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MODERN MIS 
alana Leroy, 39” 


SPANISH MAI 


Impressions of Protestant Work in 
Colombia and Venezuela 


BY / 

W. REGINALD WHEELER 
AND 

WEBSTER E. BROWNING 


PHILADELPHIA | 
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
1925 


Copyricat, 1925, By 
W. ReGiInaLD WHEELER 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


CHAPTER 


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BEL 


LV 


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Viiv 
VII. 
VIII. 


IX. 


X. 
XI. 


6. Hb 
ALT: 
ALY: 


XV. 
XVI. 


XVII. 
XVIII. 
XIX. 
XX. 


XXI, 
XXII. 
XXIII. 
XXIV. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


CHRISTMAS ON THE CARIBBEAN, UNDER THE 
SOUTHERN POROGH IL lola. ey heared salar 
Our Nearest SoutH AmeErRIcAN NEIGHBOR. . 
CaRTAGENA, THE “ GoLDEN GaTE” or CoLom- 
BUSS eee es) ie ear sk Peete Mal ei g tear 
BARRANQUILLA AND THE ANNUAL MEETING OF 
THEACCOLOMBIA MISSION. ¢ Ss) ho ett eb ee 
Up tue Maaparena River To Boaotrk .. . 
OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA ....... 
On Mute Back From BucaRAMANGA TO BELEN 
A Hieuuianp ParisH oN THE Royat Roap To 
Bogota antidd oo eae ee eae an 
GuaTavité, THE LAKE oF THE GOLDEN ONE — 
THE Reat Home or “ Ex Dorapo”.. . 
Bogotsk, THE “ ATHENS oF SourH AMERICA” 
An Ariat Trip Over THE TRAILS OF THE 
CONOUTETAUORS ae Aaa tee te Wand cer eee A 
Tue PresByTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH . . 
CERETE AND THE VALLEY OF THE SINU.. . 
CaRTAGENA AND THE CALL FoR CoONQUISTADORS 
oF THE Cross IN CotomBia To-Day. . . 
GEOGRAPHICAL AND HistoricaL SKETCH OF 
COLOMBIA NY wee Reel et ia tue oe a oe Petree 
An Ovriine History or THE COLOMBIA 
WETSEYO WEBNS dd co Grete ee ey 20 Fe 1 ec rae ele 
HDUCATION DING WOLOMBIA’ Gao sls, gine fe fate 
From CoromBia To VENEZUELA ..... 
Venuzorna, Lirtim Venice os 2 2) ahs) 
AN OvtTuine History or THE MIssIon IN 
WAP RTELA tase bat ln lh Shed toc, serie Masao 
EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA ........ 
CCRMROAS Tore Ue Ste iat hy ays el ciate ay oe bale 
FIOME WARD? DOUND Vir felines + hess \eoereate teins 
Mission DevELopMENTS SINcE 1923 ... . 


A Brier Reapinae List on CoLoMBIA AND VENEZUELA . 


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110 


131 
139 
165 


190 


206 


229 
238 
263 
271 


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ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 
An Arriat Trip Over THE TRAILS oF THE CoNQUuISTA- 
DORS + ch vase MMe eur oe es vl Meet (ay 2 rote mece 
Por TRESS OVA SANS PERNANDO 90) 00/520) WS aren ely eeietigy SeO 
STUDENTS oF BARRANQUILLA GiRLs’ AND Boys’ ScHoots 34 
A GRADUATE OF THE BAaRRANQUILLA GIRLS’ ScHooL . . 50 
Tue CotomsBia Mission aT BARRANQUILLA IN 1923 . . 66 
MAGDALENA\ RIVER ‘STREAMERS HL t0e be eed re area BO 
AMD YPICAL}COLOMRBIAN) HIGH WAY) (ois eiihe He) ontetaane nial tod 
PARR GUSTAVITA, COP eat VS CANUTE COLE SPAY aA ORE Ve OG 
Monument MarkING THE BATTLEFIELD OF BoyacaA . . 116 
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE RoMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD 
TN LAIOLG MBIA Cousin Cahners Gude alkene Uh Lk tet teste iter. Fae 
Tue Bogota Cuurcnu, Purcuasep In 1868... . . . 136 
THE) BOYS } SCHOOL) AT: BOGOTA) 2 ies ema ata steed LOO 
A Hypro-ArrPLaNne ON THE Banks OF THE MAGDALENA 166 
An AIRPLANE View oF THE MaGpaLENA..... . . 180 
A MemsBer or THE CoMMISSION AND A CoLOMBIAN Con- 
TRAST IN} TRANSPORTATION 6. <\)slvletie)  sicen whene vee eoe 
REACHING THE INTELLECTUALS IN SoutH AMERICA . . 214 
A Priest OrFriciaTING aT A Lorrery In MEDELLIN . . 240 
Tue Burning oF THE Bisxes at Iruanao, CotomBia. . 256 
“Wuen SHatt We Turee Meet Again?” .... . 272 
Tue Late Dr. anv Mrs. T. S. Ponp, Founpers oF THE 
MELEE A MISSION Wire calice haha ear aie k a tou eeer a Nae BO 
THE VENEZUELA MIssION AND THE COOPERATIVE Con- 
FERENCE Hextp in Caracas In 1923 .... ...,. . 292 
WOGAMERICAN PATRIOTS \i 8 bh ete) hate tem ces COOS 


Tue PANTHEON WITH THE Toms or Bo.uivar IN Caracas 320 
Map or CotomBiA AND VENEZUELA WITH Route OF THE 
ComMISsION Me Pa a ANAT anthem 1aee te MSRM Urata Bf 


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INTRODUCTION 


HE present volume is the outgrowth of a four 

months’ trip to visit Presbyterian Missions in 

Colombia and Venezuela on the “ Spanish Main ” 
of South America. 

The trip originated in the practice of the For- 
eign Mission Boards and Societies of sending at 
stated intervals commissions or deputations to visit 
the Missions on the field and to bring back to the 
United States direct word about them to those in- 
terested. The particular Mission Board with whose 
work this book is concerned — the Board of For- 
eign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the 
United States of America — has approved of such 
a visitation and report for each of its Missions at 
least once in every seven years. In 1922-1923 it 
was the turn of Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela 
to be thus visited. In this book the work of Co- 
lombia and Venezuela is described; another volume, 
entitled Modern Missions in Meaico, is devoted to 
Mexico. 

The Commission in Colombia and Venezuela was 
composed of Webster EK. Browning, D.D., Litt. D. 
(University of San Marcos), Educational Secre- 
tary of the Committee on Codperation in Latin 
America, with residence in Montevideo, Uruguay, 
and with twenty-eight years of experience in South 


America; and the Executive Secretary of the Pres- 
vii 


viii INTRODUCTION 


byterian Foreign Board for the Latin American 
Missions. 

On December 20, 1922, the writer sailed from 
Mexico, where with another Commission he had 
visited the Presbyterian Mission. On December 
23, he left Havana for Panama, where he met Dr. 
Browning who had come up the coast of South 
America. On December 28, we sailed for Colom- 
bia, arriving at Puerto Colombia on the thirtieth. 
We attended the annual meeting of the Colombia 
Mission and then went up the Magdalena River on 
the way to Bogota, the capital city, 900 miles in- 
land and 9,000 feet above the sea. At Puerto 
Wilches, four days up the Magdalena from Bar- 
ranquilla, Dr. Browning went overland, by train 
and by mule, to Bucaramanga, 120 miles from the 
river. From Bucaramanga he rode four days on 
mule back to Belen, where we met him after a trip 
of 150 miles by motor from Bogota. On the way 
from Bogota to Medellin, the writer flew from 
Girardot to Puerto Barrio, a distance of 210 miles. 
After Medellin, Cartagena and Cerete, and the 
Sinu River Valley were visited, and on March 19, 
we sailed from Puerto Colombia for Venezuela. 
We reached the port of La Guayra on March 22, 
met with the Venezuela Mission in Caracas, and 
sailed for New York via Panama on April 2, ar- 
riving on April 20, 1923, just six months from the 
day the writer had left the United States for 
Mexico and the South. 

Our methods of travel as indicated in this itin- 
erary were many and diverse. We traveled on 


INTRODUCTION ix 


land: on foot, on horseback and on mule back; the 
writer can still see in his imagination the long white 
ears of his mammoth white mule as we rode over 
the rough mountain trails of the Cordilleras of the 
Andes in Colombia. We rode behind wood-burning 
locomotives on narrow-gauge South American 
lines; we traveled in what are popularly known as 
“tin Lizzies,” and the writer has come back to the 
United States with a much deeper appreciation of 
the prowess, the potentialities, and the longevity 
of the productions of Henry Ford. We traveled 
on the water: on the sea in modern ocean liners, out- 
fitted for the increasing number of tourists who 
visit the Mexican Gulf and the Caribbean; along 
the river, in wood-burning, paddle-wheel river 
steamers; on smaller streams in long dugout 
canoes; and along the coasts in motor boats with 
engines of marvelous mechanical composition that 
choose the most extraordinary times and places in 
which to break down. We traveled in the air: and 
the writer flew 200 miles down the Magdalena 
River Valley in an airplane manned and managed 
by Germans most of whom saw service in the late 
war. The trip up the Magdalena River over that 
same distance by river boat and narrow-gauge train 
had taken us four days and four nights; the writer 
came down in the air in two hours and fifteen min- 
utes actual flying time. We went up the river on 
the steamer at a speed of six miles an hour; the 
writer came down in the air at a speed of 100 miles 
an hour. The travel by dugout canoe and mule 
and river steamers was the slowest the writer has 


x INTRODUCTION 


ever known; the travel by airplane, the fastest; 
on the one hand, transportation of the tenth and 
sixteenth and nineteenth centuries; on the other, 
means of travel of the twentieth; the old and the 
new, side by side. That is Colombia and Venezuela 
to-day — and it is with these countries and with 
efforts to bring into the old the best gifts of the new 
that this volume deals. 

Most of this material was prepared on the field; 
letters written during the trip have been left prac- 
tically unchanged. Chapter XXIV summarizes 
any major changes in the local situation or any 
special progress made in reaching the objectives 
outlined in the preceding chapters. Dr. Browning 
wrote Chapters VI, VII, XII, XV, XVI, XVII, 
XIX, XX, and XXI. I am responsible for the 
rest of the book, but we have both been over 
the whole volume and it represents our united view- 
point. 

Where property and equipment are mentioned, 
with suggestions as to additional items needed, the 
fact should be kept clear that the views presented 
are those of the Commission, and do not necessarily 
represent the most recent actions of Missions and 
Board. These latter are, of course, the only actions 
that are “ official,” and they should be secured by 
individuals who are interested in such matters. 

We wish to thank the members of the two Mis- 
sions for their guidance and assistance in preparing 
this volume; the Westminster Press, for cordial co- 
operation in its publication; and Miss Augustine 
Schafer and Miss Mabel V. Schluter, for their help 


INTRODUCTION xi 


in preparing the manuscript and seeing the volume 
through the press. 

To the General Assembly in 1923, Dr. Martin 
D. Hardin, Chairman of the Foreign Missions 
Committee, spoke thus of his impressions of the 
Board’s Annual Report and of the missionaries 
whose work was therein described. We believe 
that his words apply truly to the work in Colombia 
and Venezuela to-day: 

“These men and women have not run away from 
the tragedy of human existence. They have faced 
life at its lowest, and from every continent and 
every race they cry back to us that there is some- 
thing in man, no matter what his state or race, 
which was made for the highest, and by God’s grace 
he can be redeemed into it. 

“This work speaks not of a Saviour who can save 
the world, but of One who is actually doing it. This 
work vibrates and flashes with the kind of divine 
power that ever attended the presence of our Lord. 
The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are 
cleansed, and the dead live. 

“The work described throbs with that kind of 
first-hand experience with the power of the living 
God, that mighty redemptive passion of Jesus, 
without which all our professions and preachings 
are as sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. 

“We do believe that as we read there will come a 
new consciousness of the glory of that life which 
turned a felon’s cross into a throne; a new devotion 
to Him who, in the very hour of defeat, cried, ‘ And 
I, if I be lifted up . . . will draw all men unto my- 


xii INTRODUCTION 


self’; a new conviction that a love which lives 
blood-red and all-conquering for nineteen hundred 
years, and reaches from Calvary with saving power 
over the whole earth, can come from no other source 
than the Heart of the living God.” 


W. REGINALD WHEELER 
156 Firra AvEeNvge, 
New Yorx Criry 


CHAPTER I 


CHRISTMAS ON THE CARIBBEAN UNDER 
THE SOUTHERN CROSS 


On Boarp S.S. CartLtio, CaripBEaAN SEA, 
December 28, 1922 


N December 18, 1922, we sailed on the steam- 
ship Morro Castle, of the Ward Line, from 
the port of Progreso in Yucatan, for Cuba. Our 
boat made the trip across the Yucatan Gulf in 
thirty-six hours. Early on the morning of the 
twentieth we sighted the Cuban shore line and later 
the beautiful harbor of Havana. The island and 
port have all the attractiveness of Honolulu and the 
Hawaiian Islands, with the Spanish influence and 
architecture even more in evidence, and the same 
delightful atmosphere of the South Seas, into which 
setting, by a strange contrast, American energy 
and business activity have recently been introduced. 
Columbus first sighted the Cuban shore in October, 
1492, and reported it to be “the most beautiful 
land which human eyes have ever seen.” As we 
first saw it in the soft light of the rising sun whose 
effulgence gently effaced the starry outline of 
the Southern Cross, his tribute did not seem 
extravagant. 

Havana harbor is most interesting in itself, with 
Morro Castle on the left and the forts of La Punta 
and La Fuerza on the right of the inner harbor, 

1 


2 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





the bold curve of the malecon, serving as a break- 
water and promenade, half encircling the bay, and 
the cream-colored Spanish buildings of the city 
rising beyond. Our boat passed near the section 
of the harbor where the battleship Maine was sunk 
in February, 1898. Over Morro Castle the Span- 
ish flag, which had been carried victorious over 
half of the Americas, floated for the last time on 
January 1, 1899, its furling marking the end of 
nearly four centuries of Spanish occupation in the 
New World. 

We could not but reflect upon the changes which 
had come over the island during the past twenty- 
three years, since the departure of the Spaniards 
and the introduction of American influence. 
Through patient and courageous science, in which 
life was given that others might live, the island 
has been transformed from one of the most un- 
healthy countries in the world to a land with one 
of the best health records, the mortality record in 
1918 being 12.5 in one thousand. The island, which 
is roughly 800 miles long by 20 to 100 miles wide, 
with approximately the same area as the state of 
Pennsylvania, has a population to-day of nearly 
three million, the city of Havana having approx- 
imately half a million people within its boundaries. 
Cuba’s trade with the United States exceeds that 
of any other Latin-American land; its total foreign 
trade for 1920 was $1,300,000,000 which was ex- 
ceeded only by that of Argentina. 

We were met in Havana by Rev. E. A. Odell, 
the representative of the Presbyterian Home Board 


CHRISTMAS ON THE CARIBBEAN 3 


in Cuba, who generously gave us of his time during 
our stay between boats. Mr. Odell is the only rep- 
resentative of his Board and has the responsibility 
of the direction of the nineteen church centers built 
up by the Board and the local churches throughout 
Cuba, the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church for 
Americans in Havana, the supervision of a press 
and bookstore, the charge of work among the Chi- 
nese, and participation in the direction of a hos- 
pital which has been erected through local subscrip- 
tions. Under the Foreign Board such a list of 
duties would be considered the task of a mission 
station at least. Mr. and Mrs. Odell need help in 
the carrying of these multifarious responsibilities ; 
we can think of no more interesting place in which 
to work than this near-by island, and we trust that 
the volunteers who are desired for this work will 
soon appear. 

Mr. Day left Havana on the twentieth, going by 
boat to Key West and thence by rail to New York. 
Dr. Rodgers stayed until the twenty-second and 
then followed by the same route. A hydroplane 
makes the trip from Havana to the United States 
coast, covering the seventy-five miles in as many 
minutes. New York is fifty hours from Key West; 
Christmas was coming and the impulse was strong 
to take airplane and train and be home on Christ- 
mas Eve. The schedule of the second part of the 
deputation’s itinerary, however, called for a visit 
to Colombia and Venezuela; Dr. W. E. Browning, 
Educational Secretary of the Committee on Codp- 
eration in Latin America, had been appointed as 


4 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the other member of the delegation to visit these 
two countries; I was to meet him in Panama. So, 
on December 23, I turned south again and sailed 
on the steamship Ulua of the United Fruit Line for 
the Canal Zone. 

We spent Christmas Day on the boat. On 
Christmas Eve, which was Sunday, we had a well- 
attended service. Christmas Day we celebrated by 
deck sports, followed in the evening by a bountiful 
dinner. On Christmas Eve, after the service, I 
went up to the top deck and watched the wonderful 
stars of the tropical night, so large and luminous 
and apparently so close as to be within touch of 
the swinging masts. Columbus had watched those 
stars as he set out with his frail caravels for the 
voyage into the unknown; they had guided many 
a courageous seaman and conquistador during the 
century that followed his first trip across this sea. 
The boldness and intrepidity of these pioneers came 
to me afresh; the recent words of a British his- 
torian seemed a fitting tribute: “'The human race 
in all its annals holds no record like the conquest 
of the New World. Uncharted seas, unnavigated 
gulfs, new constellations, the unfathomable black 
pit of the Magellan Clouds; the Cross hung in the 
sky; the very needle varying from the pole; islands 
innumerable and an unknown world rising from 
out the sea; all unsuspected races living in a flora 
never seen by Europeans, made it an achievement 
unique in all the history of mankind.”* Then I 


1 The Conquest of New Granada, R. G. B. Cunninghame Graham, 
preface, p. vii. 


CHRISTMAS ON THE CARIBBEAN 5 


heard the click of the wireless instrument near by, 
the operator called out that he was in communication 
with New York and Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, 
and that the ether was full of ‘“ Merry Christ- 
mases.” I remembered another event even more 
unique in the history of mankind; I thought of the 
star of Bethlehem, and of the slow but steady con- 
quest of lands through the whole world made by 
those who are first captive to its Lord; of the mis- 
sionaries of our own Church, who had crossed this 
sea to give a living witness to the true message of 
Christmas, with its beneficent spirit of peace and 
good will. The love that had drawn them on this 
mission, love of Christ and love of their fellow men, 
knew no bounds of time and space. As the wire- 
less clicked on it seemed that science at last was 
catching up with love, and that the time must soon 
come when this spirit of brotherhood and neighbor- 
liness and mutual trust, which was born into the 
world nineteen centuries ago, would unite the world 
in spirit as twentieth-century invention has united 
it in material ways. 

On the twenty-sixth we sighted the shores of 
Panama. The first appearance of the Isthmus 
bears out the general impression of the unhealth- 
fulness of the region. The land is low and 
swampy; a miasmic mist and vapor rises from the 
tangled underbrush; pestilence and fever seem to 
haunt the shores. Against this background the 
achievements of the American Government in first 
clearing the Isthmus of disease and then cutting 
the great canal stood out as an almost superhuman 


6 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





victory. We passed between two long break- 
waters, entered a sheltered bay, with the opening 
of the canal and the first locks at the farther end 
to the right, and, after sailing up the bay, swung 
around a long wharf on the left and tied up to the 
pier at Cristobal. ‘This is the name given to the 
American town at the Atlantic end of the canal, 
while the Panama town across the railroad track 
is called Colon, the two names being the Spanish 
version of “ Christopher Columbus.” ‘The com- 
bined towns have a population of about 10,000. 
Cristobal has an atmosphere of American cleanli- 
ness and efficiency; wide, smooth avenues shaded 
by beautiful palms, substantial buildings resem- 
bling those of California, steamship offices, the 
headquarters of the American Bible Society, 
Y.M.C.A. buildings, and soldiers’ club houses for 
the use of the ten thousand United States soldiers 
stationed in the Zone. Colon, with its dilapidated 
frame houses, unkempt streets, and many saloons 
and cantinas, is a depressing contrast. 

I met Dr. Browning on the afternoon of the 
twenty-sixth. He had visited all the countries on 
the east coast of South America before crossing 
the continent to come up the west coast through 
Chile, Bolivia, and Peru. In each country he had 
been helping to set up the preliminary organization 
for the Congress on Christian Work in South 
America which is to be held in Montevideo in April, 
1925. We called on Rev. R. R. Gregory, agent 
of the American Bible Society, and Rev. H. B. 
Fisher, pastor of the Union Church. There was 


CHRISTMAS ON THE CARIBBEAN 7 


not time to see the Canal itself, but I hope that 
I can do this on my return trip. 

We sailed on the twenty-eighth on the United 
Fruit Line steamship Carillo, for Cartagena, and 
Puerto Colombia. As we crossed the sapphire- 
tinted waters of the Caribbean, the “‘ Mediterranean 
of America,” we talked of all the conflicting na- 
tional ambitions that had centered about that sea 
and its ports for the three centuries following its 
discovery. EF. S. Hart in the introduction to his 
recent book, Admirals of the Caribbean, has 
clearly summed up the strategic importance of this 
sea during those centuries, an importance which I 
had not realized until I actually visited this region: 

“The romantic interest which attaches to the 
waters of the Caribbean has to some extent ob- 
scured the fact that the records of events in the 
Caribbean during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and 
eighteenth centuries are an integral part of the his- 
tory of England and of the American colonies. 
Battles fought in the Caribbean Sea were often 
an important factor in making peace or war in 
Europe. 

“Not only were settlements established in the 
West Indies and in the Spanish Main a century in 
advance of those in North America, but for three 
hundred years the struggles of the European 
nations for the control of the commerce of this 
region had a direct effect upon the material, politi- 
cal, and racial development of the North American 
colonies. 

“ Both by discovery and by conquest Spain, in 


8 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the sixteenth century, claimed the exclusive right to 
the New World. Although this claim was suc- 
cessfully disputed by the English and French in 
the regions north of Florida and by the Portu- 
guese in certain other places, Spain had, during the 
century following the first voyage of Colombus, es- 
tablished her rule over the West Indies, Central 
America, and the greater part of the continent to 
the South. . ... 

“Tales of these vast and rich territories had bred 
in the venturesome hearts of many an Englishman 
and Frenchman a wish to share in the develop- 
ment and trade of this marvelous New World. 
Spain had clearly proclaimed, however, that all 
foreigners were forbidden entry to the waters of 
the Caribbean. Envy of the Spanish bred a hatred 
which was fanned to fever heat by stories of cruel- 
ties inflicted on English sailors by their captors. 
The terror of the Inquisition at Cartagena had 
served in Protestant England to give a religious 
fervor to the hatred of Spain. This hatred was 
shared by the French and Dutch who wished for 
equal opportunities in the rich trade of the Car- 
ibbean. # ni 

“The story of the great seamen of Elizabeth’s 
reign — Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher — is al- 
most the history of England of their day; the 
battles they fought made the settlements in Vir- 
ginia and Massachusetts possible. 

“Of no less influence in the development of the 
English colonial settlements were the naval under- 
takings of Sir Henry Morgan in the seventeenth, 


CHRISTMAS ON THE CARIBBEAN 9 


and of Admiral Vernon and Admiral Rodney in 
the eighteenth century... . 

“It was the final supremacy of British control of 
the Caribbean Sea which made the Rio Grande the 
northern boundary of Latin America instead of 
the Potomac.” * 

We are soon to see one of the great battlegrounds 
of this international struggle for supremacy, and 
we look forward with eagerness to the first sight 
of Colombian and South American shores. 

1 Admirals of the Caribbean, F. S. Hart, pp. 5, 6, 42. 


CHAPTER II 


OUR NEAREST SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBOR 


On Boarp S.S. Caritio, CariBpBEAN SEA, 
December 29, 1922 


OLOMBIA has a special interest for the 

people of the United States. This is true 

whether the country is considered from the stand- 
point of commerce, of history, or of the Church. 

Commercially, Colombia is the South American 
country nearest to the United States. From its 
chief port, Puerto Colombia, it is only three hun- 
dred miles to the Panama Canal, while to New 
Orleans it is but thirteen hundred miles. From 
Puerto Colombia and Cartagena to the oil refin- 
eries on the eastern coast of the United States is 
a shorter distance than from Tampico, Mexico, to 
the United States coast. 

Colombia has the third largest population of any 
country in South America, being outranked only 
by Brazil and Argentina. Colombia is the only 
country in South America that has a coast line on 
both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Ships 
can steam from Buenaventura, its chief Pacific 
port, through the Canal to Puerto Colombia on the 
Atlantic side, in four days. This coast line extends 
for 465 miles on the Pacific side and 650 miles on 
the Atlantic. 

Due to its original relationship to Panama, and 
in accordance with the treaty of 1922, approved 

10 


NEAREST SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBOR 11 


by both governments, Colombia is the only South 
American nation whose ships pass through the 
Canal on an equal basis with our own. This treaty 
provides for the payment of $25,000,000 in five 
annual installments to Colombia. 

Colombian exports, while not as large as those of 
some other South American lands, are of special 
value to the United States. In 1918 our country 
took ninety-three per cent of them while furnishing 
eighty per cent of Colombia’s imports. The ex- 
ports include agricultural products, with coffee 
heading the list, making up seventy-eight per cent 
of the whole export trade in 1920. Mineral prod- 
ucts include gold, in the production of which, dur- 
ing the Spanish occupation, Colombia stood first, 
surpassing Mexico and Peru, the total value of 
gold exported since the Conquest being reckoned 
at between $600,000,000 and $800,000,000. For- 
merly second to Russia in the production of plati- 
num, Colombia now leads the world in the expor- 
tation of that mineral. Coal has been discovered 
in almost every department. Petroleum, of a 
higher specific gravity than that produced in 
Mexico and the American Southwest, has been 
discovered 400 miles up the Magdalena; plans are 
being made to pipe it to the mouth of the river so 
that it may be shipped to the United States. The 
Colombian forests have scarcely been touched; 
vegetable ivory, or tagua, from which are made 
buttons of a superior quality, rubber, a low grade 
of mahogany, and other woods are found there. 
As a cattle-raising country Colombia, although 


12 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





now suffering from a general slump in the cattle 
market, has a distinct future. The total value of 
exports and imports in 1920 was $70,000,000 and 
$94,000,000 respectively. In 1921, when the post- 
war depression was felt, especially in the decline 
of the price of coffee, the figures for imports were 
estimated to be $31,000,000 and for exports 
$16,000,000. 

From the standpoint of density of population 
and intensive cultivation of the land, Colombia is 
among the least developed countries of all South 
America. For its area of approximately 476,000 
square miles there is a population of only 6,300,000, 
an average of thirteen per square mile. There are 
only 776 miles of railroad and, aside from certain 
narrow mule trails and one or two military high- 
ways near the capital, there are almost no good 
roads in the country. Manufacturing is hardly 
begun; the country people and the Indians along 
its vast waterways and among the mountains live 
to-day almost as they lived when the Spanish con- 
quistadores invaded their land four centuries ago. 
Capital and industrial activity of the twentieth 
century will inevitably move in the direction of 
such an economic vacuum and despite the diffi- 
culties of climate, Colombia, situated as it is close 
to the Canal and so near the United States, will 
be affected by such developments. Foreign capi- 
tal and entrepreneurs will have a large share in 
this development, just as they are having in the 
development of China, which is in a somewhat 
similar relation to the more advanced countries of 


NEAREST SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBOR 13 





the world, and there are many signs to-day that 
the battle for foreign concessions has already 
begun. 

From the standpoint of history there are cer- 
tain aspects of Colombia’s development which are 
unique. 

It is the only South American land and the only 
territory sighted by Columbus which bears his 
name. The great explorer first saw the South 
American coast near Trinidad and the mouths of 
the Orinoco in his third voyage in 1498, and then 
followed the coast line west toward Panama. 

The story of the Spanish conquest of Colombia — 
stands on a par with that of Mexico and Peru. 
The name of Jiménez de Quesada, the Spanish 
leader, is not so well known as that of Cortes or 
Pizarro, but his exploits and his daring will bear 
full comparison with theirs. He lived in Spain in 
a time when the tales of the conquests of Cortes 
and Pizarro and of the quest of Kl Dorado were 
circulated everywhere throughout the country, 
when “ even the tailors wanted to go a-conquering, 
and looking out for mines.” In 1535 he sailed for 
Colombia; in 1536 he headed an expedition of a 
thousand men to march from the port of Santa 
Marta, which had been founded eleven years be- 
fore, up the Magdalena River Valley, to reach, if 
possible, the capital of the Chibchas, the Indian 
inhabitants of the land near the site of the present 
city of Bogota. The difficulties and dangers of 
that march can scarcely be overstated; in addition 
to the necessity of beating off the Indians, who, in 


14 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





canoes and from the banks of the river showered 
poisonous arrows on the soldiers as they marched, 
Quesada fought against “a hostile nature, vastly 
more powerful and challenging than any that man- 
kind had known before his time. He had to break 
his way into the fastnesses of a world that put all its 
strength in heat and rain, in floods, in pestilences, 
in monstrous and invading vegetation that over- 
flowed the paths his macheteros cut through and 
obliterated them almost as fast as they were made. 
Cortes in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru marched 
through relatively open country and every day 
brought them toward climates more suitable for 
Europeans. Quesada’s men, plunged in the re- 
cesses of the virgin forest without quinine or any 
febrifuge, devoured alive by the mosquitoes and 
by the innumerable insect plagues that make life 
miserable, marched forward, going they knew not ° 
where. Hunger and thirst —those enemies which 
the modern soldier with all his discipline and 
courage hardly resists two days — were with them 
constantly, the handmaidens of death.” * 

Often they made only three miles a day; it took 
them eight months to reach the present town of 
Barranca Bermeja, four hundred miles up the 
river. When they encountered the cliffs and the 
precipices of the mountains near Bogota, they 
faced new difficulties. In some places they had to 
haul up their forces by improvised ropes; they im- 
pressed Indians into their service as carriers, but 


1 The Conquest of New Granada, R. G. B. Cunninghame Graham, 
pp. 25, 38. 


NEAREST SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBOR 15 


the aborigines were unaccustomed to such steady 
labor and died, so that the loads came back upon 
the Europeans again. Finally, eleven months 
after leaving the coast, they reached the plains of 
Bogota. Of the 1,000 men who had started, only 
166 were still alive. 

On the site of the Indian town of Muequeta, 
nearly nine thousand feet above sea level, Quesada 
founded the present city of Bogota, naming it after 
the Indian chief of the Chibchas. 

They had scarcely overcome the opposition of 
the local Indians and become orientated in their 
new surroundings, when a most curious coinci- 
dence in exploration took place. Messengers 
brought word of the coming from the south of a 
band of Spaniards; they proved to be under the 
command of Sebastian de Belaleazar, who had led 
his men from the city of Quito, founded by Pizarro 
in Ecuador, via the Pacific coast of Colombia to 
the plains of Bogota. As Quesada set out to treat 
with the newcomer he came upon another band of 
Europeans who had come from the east; these men 
were under Captain Don Nicolas Federmann, 
Lieutenant General of Venezuela, who had spent 
three years in traversing the Venezuelan Ilanos 
and the passes of the Andes, and had arrived with 
one hundred of his original four hundred men. 
“ Neither Quesada nor Federmann nor Belalcazar 
had heard of the other’s expeditions, so that the 
meeting of the three generals starting, as they had 
done, from points so far from one another reads 
like a fairy tale.” An element of humor was pres- 


16 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


ent in the fact that all three had started on their 
expeditions without the knowledge of their su- 
periors, with the intention of slipping off to Spain 
after completing their discoveries, to receive there 
the rewards of their labors. ‘This meeting took 
place in February, 1538. ‘The three leaders estab- 
lished friendly relations with each other and finally 
embarked together in a boat bound for Spain. 
Associated with Colombia in the early nineteenth 
century are the names of several great patriots. 
Francisco Miranda, “the Nazarene of Spanish- 
American independence,” visited the United States, 
England, and France, trying to enlist their interest 
in the independence of the Spanish colonies. He 
called on President Stiles of Yale University in 
1784, and Dr. Stiles wrote in his diary that he was 
“a learned man, and a flaming son of Liberty.” 
His correspondence with President Adams and 
with Alexander Hamilton is most interesting; he 
hoped that British and American forces would 
come to the aid of the Spanish-American countries. 
“Allis approved and we await only the fiat of your 
illustrious President to depart like lightning.” * 
Simon Bolivar, the “ George Washington of Latin- 
American Independence,” whose statue stands in 
Central Park, New York City, is claimed by Co- 
lombians just as is Francisco Miranda, although 
both were born in Caracas, in what is now Vene- 
zuela, the division between the two countries hay- 
ing come after their independence had been won. 


1 Rise of the Spanish American Republics, W. S. Robinson, pp. 
30, 44. 


NEAREST SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBOR 17 


Finally, from the standpoint of the Church, 
Colombia is of unique interest, whether considered 
from the Catholic or from the Protestant angle. 
Colombia has its Concordat, which gives the Ro- 
man Catholic Church complete ecclesiastical free- 
dom and a guarantee of governmental protection as 
the State Church. Later legislation, in accordance 
with the Concordat, gives the Church the power of 
annulling civil marriages contracted by civil laws 
by a marriage ceremony conducted in conformity 
with the rites of the Catholic Church. This Church 
has been more tenacious, perhaps, in its hold upon 
national and civil life in Colombia than in any 
other Latin-American country. 

But there is also a liberal element in Colombia, 
and the Constitution, despite the Concordat, pro- 
vides for tolerance of religious worship. Liberal 
leaders are increasing in number and influence. 

From the standpoint of the Protestant, specifi- 
cally of the Presbyterian Church, the work in 
Colombia has a special appeal. This work was 
started in 1856 at the express request of a group 
of individuals in Bogota, who were convinced that 
the Word of God as much as the sword of Bolivar 
was needed in Colombia to bring in true justice 
and freedom. It is the oldest Presbyterian work 
in South America, antedating by three years our 
first work in Brazil. Aside from two missionaries 
of the Gospel Missionary Union of Kansas City, 
in Cali, our Church is the only Protestant Church 
represented, and we are wholly responsible for the 
spread of evangelical truth. 


18 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


With the possible exception of Venezuela, our 
youngest Latin-American Mission, it is the most 
needy field of our Church. Dr. Robert E. Speer 
visited Colombia in 1909 and after his return 
pointed out that for over thirty years there was 
but one Station with only two men, rarely a third, 
who came to begin work just as one of his prede- 
cessors was leaving. In 1909 there were eight 
missionaries in the whole field. ‘To-day there are 
thirty, but these thirty are trying to meet the needs 
of 6,000,000 people in a country whose area is as 
great as that of Germany, France, Holland, and 
Belgium combined, or as great as the area of all the 
Atlantic States of our own country, from Maine to 
Florida, with the addition of Ohio and West Vir- 
ginia. Imagine thirty Protestants, two thirds of 
whom are women, trying to serve the needs of such 
an area, and consider that in this total area there 
are less than 800 miles of railroad and practically 
no roads. The ratio of missionaries to a parish is 
one to 200,000. Even China and India cannot 
show such a comparative need. 

Here is a field which will call for all the courage 
and patience of any volunteer. Our Church has 
been long in the field but the work is not yet done. 
Dr. Speer in his report in 1909 wrote further: 

“We have put our hand to this plow. We put 
it there fifty-three years ago. The furrow is not 
run yet. We shall not turn back. Others have 
come and gone but the work that is to be done is 
laid at our door. It is a needy work. There is 
none needier. ... I am writing these words on 


NEAREST SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBOR 19 


the Magdalena River. We are just passing a col- 
lection of hovels on the river bank. Children are 
playing before the door. ‘The father has come 
down to hold off his canoe to save it from damage 
from the afterwash of the boat. ‘The mother is 
looking out from the main hovel, which is her home. 
There is no school. There is no church. For scores 
and scores of miles up and down the river are 
hundreds of such homes. Back in the mountains 
they are gathered in villages and towns and cities. 
The people are of flesh and blood like ourselves. 
They are a warm-hearted, loving, responsive 
people. The gospel is in our hands for them, and 
if we abandon them, who will give it to them? : The 
Roman Catholic Church has been with them for 
three centuries and it has not given it to them. 
Who will, if we do not?” 

As I remembered those early adventurers who 
had braved the Colombian wildernesses, as I 
thought of our little group of Americans who are 
facing almost as great odds, and as I read of the 
needs, now multiplied, of which Dr. Speer wrote 
thirteen years ago, I thought that here indeed was 
a challenge to the bravest and best of the young men 
and young women of our Church. In the carrying 
out of this high adventure they would have a greater 
right than the soldiers of Cortes or Quesada to 
the watchword that was emblazoned on one of 
those ancient standards: 

“ Friends, let us follow the cross, and under this 
sign, if we have faith, we shall conquer! ” 


CHAPTER III 


CARTAGENA, THE “GOLDEN GATE” 
OF COLOMBIA 


On Boarp S.S. Caritio, CARIBBEAN SEA, 
December 30, 1922 


OR three centuries Cartagena was the focal 

_ point in the contest of international forces for 
control of the Caribbean. 

The city is located on the northern coast of 
Colombia, 266 miles northeast of the Panama 
Canal. It has a beautiful harbor, which reminds 
one somewhat of San Franciso Bay. On the west- 
ern side of the harbor, which is about eight miles 
from north to south, runs a large island known 
as Tierra Bomba. ‘The channel, called Boca 
Grande, which is wide and ‘shallow, between this 
island on the north and the city, was blockaded by 
the Spaniards by a wall built along the sea floor 
so that large vessels cannot enter. The channel at 
the southern end of the island, which is narrower 
and deeper, is called Boca Chica, and is guarded 
on both sides by fortresses. ‘The city itself, the 
southern boundaries of which border the harbor, 
the northern limits extending along the beach, 
front on the sea, is protected by a massive wall, 
which is unique for size and construction in the 
Western Hemisphere. The city was founded in 

20 


4, 
*, Pa ya a Pe 


pe 





FORTRESS OF SAN FERNANDO 


Guarding entrance to Cartagena Bay, the former rendezvous of 


the plate fleet of Spain. 





THE “GOLDEN GATE” OF COLOMBIA 21 


1533, although it had first been visited by Alons6 
Ojéda, a companion of Columbus, in 1510. It was 
the meeting place of the great plate fleet, which 
took the silver gathered from the Spanish posses- 
sions across the Atlantic to Spain, and was for- 
merly the center of the Inquisition in the new world, 
where many thousands of heretics were put to 
death. 

The city had a stormy history during the time of 
the Spanish occupancy. It was repeatedly at- 
tacked and plundered by the buccaneers and priva- 
teers of the Spanish Main. Three of these attacks 
are especially well known. In 1585, Sir Francis 
Drake, after attacking and capturing the city of 
San Domingo in Hispaniola and forcing a ransom 
from its citizens, sailed to Cartagena, and defeated 
the Spanish troops who attempted to defend the 
city. A ransom of £28,000 was extorted by the 
British admiral, who returned to England in 1586. 
The following year he was put in command of the 
English fleet which attacked Cadiz and the next 
year took part in the historic contest with the 
Spanish Armada. 

In 1697, a French fleet under Admiral de 
Pointis, attacked Cartagena and collected be- 
tween eight and nine million livres of gold and 
silver. 

In 1741, a British fleet under Admiral Edward 
Vernon set out to capture the city and harbor. The 
formidableness of the fortifications was indicated 
by the fact that his fleet consisted of thirty ships of 
the line and ninety other vessels, manned by 15,000 


22 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





sailors. There were 12,000 English troops on 
board, and at Jamaica these were reénforced by 
3,600 soldiers from the American Colonies. One 
of their officers was Colonel Laurence Washington, 
the uncle of George Washington. Mount Vernon 
afterwards received its name from Colonel Wash- 
ington’s association with the admiral. This attack 
was not successful and the fleet finally sailed away 
without having secured any booty. 

The first sight of Cartagena harbor and of the 
South American shores is most attractive. The 
foliage is rich and tropical and the shore line is 
pleasingly irregular and mountainous. We passed 
between the two ancient forts on either side of 
Boca Chica, and steamed slowly up the historic 
bay. Fishing vessels with their gleaming white 
sails dotted the beautiful blue waters of the bay. 
The natives in long, dugout canoes came paddling 
out to meet us. At the farther end of the bay, the 
city of Cartagena with its massive walls and its 
gleaming white houses, and, in the background a 
beautiful green hill, studded with palm trees, cov- 
ered with luxuriant tropical foliage, and crowned 
by the crumbling walls of the monastery of El 
Popa, was a most brave and beautiful sight. As 
we neared the wharf the native Colombian boys 
swam out to dive for coins thrown from our ship, 
as they do in Honolulu. Two beautiful swordfish 
with seemingly impossible purple tails and irides- 
cent scales shining in the pellucid waters of the bay 
circled our boat. 

We were met in Cartagena by Rev. and Mrs. 


THE “GOLDEN GATE” OF COLOMBIA 28 


J. L. Jarrett. Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett and their 
daughter, Helen, live a hundred miles up the Sinu 
River which flows into the ocean about a hundred 
miles west of Cartagena. They are the only mis- 
sionaries in the whole Department of Bolivar, which 
has a population of nearly 500,000 people. This 
whole family carries out three distinct lines of mis- 
sionary work, Mr. Jarrett overseeing the directly 
evangelistic work and church centers, Mrs. Jarrett 
doing medical work among the women who espe- 
cially need such service, and Miss Jarrett under- 
taking the responsibility of educational work. ‘The 
Mission last year took action changing the name of 
the Cerete Station to Cartagena, with the under- 
standing that, until an additional missionary could 
be appointed, Mr. Jarrett should spend a part of his 
time in Cartagena, and that the field of the Station 
should include the whole Department of Bolivar. 
In addition to the residence of the Jarretts m 
Cerete, which is the gift of Mrs. J. Livingston 
Taylor, of Cleveland, and Mr. H. C. Coleman, of 
Philadelphia, and certain small chapels in neigh- 
boring towns, lent by Mr. Coleman, the Mission 
has no property in the Department of Bolivar. 
There have been no funds available for secur- 
ing property in Cartagena, the chief city of the 
department. 

We visited the city and inspected various places 
where property might be secured in the future. 
In the evening we attended a meeting of a little 
congregation situated in a district called Cabrero, 
on the outskirts of Cartagena near the northern 


24 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


shore line. A large proportion of the people on 
the coast of Colombia have colored blood, the an- 
cestors of many of the present inhabitants having 
been brought to its shores as slaves by the early 
conquistadores and buccaneers. Nearly everyone at 
the little meeting was dark-skinned. There was no 
regular pastor and there had been no missionary 
to give them counsel and encouragement. ‘Their 
spirit was warm and bright, however, and we were 
glad to join them in this first Protestant service 
on South American shores. In the future it is 
hoped that another congregation can be built up 
nearer the center of the city, where influential men 
and women live and work; many of the people of 
this class are Spanish or European in descent, and 
they are the ones who exert true leadership through- 
out the region. 

After the service, we walked along the great 
wall guarding the approach to the city from the 
sea. We marveled at the workmanship of the 
early Spaniards and the way in which the masonry 
of the wall has withstood the battering of ocean 
and storms for so many years. We returned to 
the ship along this ancient way and this morning 
sailed for Puerto Colombia. After visiting the 
interior, we expect to go up the Sinu River to see 
the work there. 

Cartagena is a world-famous city and port, with 
a growing population of over 50,000 souls, less 
than 300 miles from American soil at Panama, and 
there is not a single representative of the Protes- 
tant Church to carry the gospel to its people, and 


THE “GOLDEN GATE” OF COLOMBIA 25 


not a cent of money from American Christians 
invested there. Bolivar, a department with a popu- 
lation of nearly 500,000, has only one missionary 
family trying to cover all its needs. This was our 
first contact with Protestant Christianity in South 
America. Will the Presbyterian Church, which 
has the sole responsibility in behalf of Protestant- 
ism for this work, allow this situation to remain 
unchallenged and unchanged? 


CHAPTER IV 


BARRANQUILLA AND THE ANNUAL MEET-— 
ING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION 


On THE Magpatena River, 
January 17, 1923 


N December thirtieth, at sunset, we arrived 
at Puerto Colombia, sixty-three miles north- 
east of Cartagena. 

Puerto Colombia is the port for Barranquilla, 
the chief Colombian city along the Atlantic sea- 
board. Barranquilla is situated eleven degrees 
north of the equator; the city is about five miles 
from the mouth of the Magdalena River and is 
seventeen and one half miles by rail from Puerto 
Colombia. The Magdalena’ River flows through 
the center of Colombia from south to north; the 
lower river is navigable by fairly large river steam- 
ers to La Dorada, over 600 miles from Barran- 
quilla. With the exception of a stretch of about 
sixty miles above La Dorada, the upper river is 
navigable for smaller steamers to Girardot, 780 
miles from the sea. The Magdalena River is the 
route taken by travelers going to the capital city 
of Bogota, 900 miles inland, and is the main artery 
of transportation to the Atlantic for the whole 
country. The mouth of the river is blocked by 
sand bars so that ocean-going vessels cannot enter 

26 


MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION) 27 


it; consequently they unload at Puerto Colombia. 
This port has no harbor facilities comparable with 
Cartagena; our boat docked at a long pier which 
stretches out for over a mile into the ocean. A 
brisk trade wind was blowing when we landed and 
the open port gave little protection from the heavy 
sea. The delay in passing the customs made us 
miss the first train to Barranquilla; in company 
with the customs officials we boarded a caboose 
attached to a freight train and thus reached Barran- 
quilla about midnight. 

Barranquilla is a sprawling city of about 80,000 
inhabitants, the census of 1918 giving the popula- 
tion as 64,551, with an estimated growth of 15,000 
in the past five years. Most of the houses are 
thatched one-story huts with whitewashed adobe 
walls, but intermingled with them are many well- 
built residences in the Spanish-American style 
with surrounding gardens and beautifully planted 
patios. The city has mainly dirt streets, which are 
rough and in many places are drifted deep with 
sand. An enterprising American corporation has 
purchased a square mile of high land along the 
river bank to the north of the city in a section called 
EK] Prado or Barrio Americano, and is laying this 
out in city blocks with asphalt streets. Already 
many houses have been built in this section by the 
wealthier citizens of Barranquilla and the results 
obtained show what can be done in city-building 
under efficient management. 

Barranquilla is the Shanghai of Colombia. Like 
Shanghai it is situated some miles from the mouth 


28 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


of the chief waterway of the country; like Shanghai 
it is the chief port of entry and export. In 1920, 
fifty-three per cent of the total exports of Colom- 
bia passed through Barranquilla, as compared to 
eighteen per cent for Cartagena and twenty-five 
per cent for Buenaventura on the Pacific coast. 
Due to its cosmopolitan character and contact with 
the outside world, Barranquilla is one of the most 
liberal cities of Colombia. The climate somewhat 
resembles Shanghai in its heat and humidity, 
though it has a longer rainy season lasting fully five 
months. ‘The roaring trade winds which blow with 
increasing violence from January to March bring 
whirling clouds of dust and the incessant rattling 
of windows and doors that one associates with 
Peking. The city has a poor health record and 
the Mission is justified in breaking the term of 
service there every three years by a short furlough 
in the homeland. | 
The work of our Church in Barranquilla was be- 
gun in 1888. There is a church with approximately 
175 members, whose pastor is Sefior Manuel 
Manga, a fine boys’ school under the efficient care 
of Rev. and Mrs. W. S. Lee who have been in 
charge for twenty-three years; and a girls’ school 
where Miss M. B. Hunter has worked for over 
twenty years. Associated in the work of the boys’ 
school during the past two and a half years were 
Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Nelson; with Miss Hunter at 
the girl’s school in recent years have been Miss Jane 
R. Morrow and Miss E. A. Tompkins; Miss Ruth 
Bradley has recently been appointed to this school 


MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION 29 


and has just arrived on the field. Rev. and Mrs. 
T. H. Candor, who have been forty years on the 
field — Mrs. Candor indeed having come out as a 
single missionary forty-two years ago — are sta- 
tioned at Barranquilla with responsibility for the 
evangelistic work and for the preparation of candi- 
dates for the ministry. Dr. and Mrs. W. E. 
Vanderbilt, who had twenty years of service in 
Mexico, followed by three years’ war service, dur- 
ing which Dr. Vanderbilt was decorated by the 
Portuguese Government, came to Colombia in 1920 
and are now in charge of the boys’ school. Dr. 
Vanderbilt is also the permanent secretary of the 
Mission. 

We enjoyed the Sunday-school and church ser- 
vices on Sunday, December 31, and from January 
1 to January 13, the annual Mission meeting ses- 
sions were held. Although the Mission was 
founded in 1856, and is the oldest of our Latin- 
American Missions, the number of missionaries in 
the early years was so small, the distance between 
stations was so great, and the funds available were 
so limited that until last year, 1921, there had been 
only eight Mission conferences and these had been 
largely delegated meetings without full attendance 
by all members of the Mission. Several of the 
missionaries had been on the field for ten years 
without having seen some of their fellow workers. 
For the last two years funds have been available 
for fully attended meetings, and we were grateful 
for the privilege of being present during the session 
of 1923. 


830 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Several problems of some difficulty were before 
the Mission for discussion and decision. The three 
most important in which the Barranquilla station 
was specially involved related to the securing of 
new property for the boys’ school; securing ade- 
quate property for the girls’ school; and deciding 
on the location of a new church building for which 
funds were in hand. 

The record of the boys’ school has been an ex- 
ceptional one. Started in 1898, on the condition 
that it should be made self-supporting and should 
not receive any current subsidy from the Board, 
it met these conditions from the first, though some 
of the missionaries contributed their own savings 
to make this possible; during the last two or three 
years of management by Mr. and Mrs. Lee, 
the annual balance from fees and local receipts 
amounted to several thousand dollars. From these 
balances Mr. Lee invested approximately $14,000 
in new property, land, and buildings which were 
thus added to the school equipment. The Board has 
invested a similar amount, and the property to-day, 
located in the center of the city, with dormitories 
and recitation hall and an acre of land, is valued 
at over $75,000. Mr. and Mrs. Lee have been in- 
defatigable in their labors, rising before five o’clock 
in the morning, teaching from eight to ten half- 
hour classes a day, assuming all the responsibilities 
of administration and of the boarding department, 
their day’s work often continuing into the night. 
The registration increased until in 1921 the en- 
rollment was 236 and the average attendance 160, 


MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION © 31 


with 64 boarders; in 1922 the enrollment was 266, 
with an average attendance of 180. For five years, 
the school paid out of its receipts the expenses of 
half a dozen candidates for the ministry who 
studied in its classrooms under the direction of 
Mr. Candor. With the exception of Mr. Nelson, 
who assisted Mr. Lee during the last year and a 
half of his services in Barranquilla, Mr. and Mrs. 
Lee had no American colleague during their 
twenty-three years of service in the school. This 
was too great a burden for anyone to carry in- 
definitely, especially in such a climate, and, in the 
fall of 1921, Mr. Lee’s health broke; the doctors 
ordered him to go to a more healthful climate and 
he was transferred to Bogota, which is over 8800 
feet above sea level. There he and Mrs. Lee have 
charge of the boys’ school which the Mission opened 
thirty years ago. When all factors are taken into 
consideration — the difficulties of climate, the ab- 
sence of Board subsidy, the lack of American col- 
leagues, and the comparatively unstable student 
material with which the school was working — I 
do not know of any Mission school related to our 
Church which has had a finer record than that of 
the Barranquilla Boys’ School under the direction 
of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Lee. 

In case the growth of the school makes nee 
advisable, there is a possibility of securing land for 
the boarding department and older boys in the new 
Ei] Prado section of the city, where the developing 
corporation has offered a site of ten acres at the 
cost of the street construction adjoining the prop- 


32 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


erty. The land is on the highest part of El Prado; 
it commands a fine view of the Magdalena River, 
which flows along the eastern boundary of this sec- 
tion of the city. The seashore and lighthouse at 
the mouth of the river five miles to the north, with 
a white line of the surf breaking upon the beach, 
are distinctly visible. In the distant east on a clear 
day the massive wall of the Sierra Nevada de Santa 
Marta rises from sea level to a height of 19,000 
feet, the peaks of the Sierra crowned with per- 
petual snow, and, although seventy-five miles dis- 
tant, standing out clear and sharp like a wall of 
heaven itself. The Mission hopes that this site can 
be used by the future boarding school and also for 
missionary residences. Action was taken by the 
Mission approving of the purchase of this land for 
$10,000 and efforts will be made during the coming 
year to secure the funds needed for the purpose. 
The history of the girls’ school shows exceptional 
service and sacrifice. In 1888, Rev. and Mrs. T. H. 
Candor, who had been previously stationed in Bo- 
gota, were transferred to Barranquilla to open a 
Mission Station in that important seaport. Shortly 
after their arrival, Mrs. Whelpley, the wife of the 
United States Consul, asked Mrs. Candor to teach 
her two daughters and some of the children of 
their Colombian friends. The school was opened in 
the Consulate with three pupils. The equipment 
consisted of three pieces of chalk, a yard of black 
cotton cloth for a blackboard, a few books, and 
some writing materials. It was a long walk from 
the Mission compound to the Consulate, through 


MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION 383 


sandy streets, under the burning rays of the tropi- 
cal sun and during the hottest hours of each 
school day. 

Other girls soon came in and the school with 
over twenty pupils was removed to a house near 
the Consulate which was rented for a missionary 
residence, church, and school. A native assistant 
in the school was employed and the need for an 
additional American teacher became evident. 

Mrs. Candor greatly rejoiced when she learned 
that her sister, Miss Adeliza Ramsay, had been 
appointed for this work by the Board of Foreign 
Missions. She and Mr. W. W. Findley, who had 
been appointed to take charge of the boys’ school in 
Bogota which Mr. Candor had opened some years 
before, arrived in Barranquilla, where Miss Ram- 
say remained, while Mr. Findley started on to 
Bogota. Both of them developed yellow fever, 
probably having been exposed on the Island of 
Haiti, on the way to Colombia. Five days after 
her arrival, Miss Ramsay died, and thirty-six hours 
later, Mr. Findley died on board a Magdalena 
River steamer for lack of the services of a com- 
petent physician. His lonely grave on the banks 
of that great stream and under the branches of a 
wide-spreading tropical tree is an evidence of his 
love for Christ and for the young men of Colombia. 

Friends of Miss Ramsay, hearing of her death, 
resolved that there should be some memorial to her 
service, so brief in time but so fine in spirit, and in 
her memory they gave the funds for the erection 
of a school anda chapel. For some years Mrs. Can- 


34 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


dor was head of this school. Mrs. Edward Ladd 
next assumed charge of the school, assisted by Miss 
Martha Bell Hunter, who afterwards followed her 
as principal and for twenty-five years has success- 
fully directed the work. By 1923, Dr. and Mrs. 
Candor had completed more than forty years of 
service, and according to the regulations of the 
Foreign Board were eligible for honorable retire- 
ment with full salary. We could not but reflect 
upon the way in which two sisters had been used 
as missionaries in God’s service, the one for forty- 
two years of rich and active participation in the 
work in Colombia, the other for only five days. 
Their best memorials are the institution which they 
both helped to build up —the one by life and the 
other by death — and the influence which that school 
and chapel have exerted on individuals and on 
the community. 

Similarly, the friends of Mr. Findley gave in 
his memory the funds for the purchase of property 
for the boys’ school at Bogota, and there is the 
expectation that younger relatives of his will soon 
join in the work in Colombia which he was so 
suddenly compelled to lay down. 

The Ramsay memorial property was once ade- 
quate for the girls’ school, but, due to the growth 
in the registration and to tropical deterioration, 
that is no longer true. ‘The school is in greater 
need of new property than is the boys’ school. 
The present property occupies only about half an 
acre of land. Its main building was erected thirty 
years ago; the roof is in an unsafe condition; part. 


——ORTES ELAN IREL RT EEN (ROR Tone —— 
eae 











Jy 
DENTS OF THE BARRANQUILLA rs’ 
STL A BOYS sCHOOL 
HE SECOND LARGES' PROTESTANT SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS AND BOY N) 
I RGEST 10) 0 Ss IN OUTH AMERICA. 





MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION 35 


of the walls are built of mud and bamboo; the floor 
and ceiling have been riddled by white ants. The 
actual playground for the 170 girls measures only 
twenty-five yards by twenty-five yards with an ex- 
tension of ten by fifteen yards. The facilities for 
drainage and sanitation are most inadequate; in the 
rainy season the yard is sometimes covered a foot 
deep in water. Despite these disadvantages, the 
registration of the school has steadily increased. 
This last year by actual count, eighty-one girls 
were turned away because of lack of room. We 
marveled at what Miss Hunter and her colleagues 
had accomplished with such inadequate equipment, 
and we felt that the record of the girls’ school was 
as extraordinary as that of the boys’ institution. 
But it is not just either to the teachers or to the 
children to allow them to continue longer in such 
quarters if it is possible to make any change for the 
better. We believe that it is possible to make this 
change and that the Church at home, when it knows 
the facts, will contribute the comparatively small 
amount of funds necessary to effect this change. 
The Mission had planned to move the girls’ school 
to the boys’ school quarters if the change to the 
Prado is made; this course is possible, although the 
ideal plan would be to secure entirely new quarters 
for the girls’ school and to use the present boys’ 
school property for a city day school. It will prob- 
ably take from three to five years to move to the 
Prado and in the meanwhile something must be 
done. We inquired whether there were not some 
property which might be leased as we are renting 


36 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


buildings in Mexico for two of the girls’ schools 
there. It happened that a few months ago oc- 
curred the death of a former governor of the De- 
partment of Atlantico in which Barranquilla is 
situated. His estate, consisting of beautiful 
grounds covering three acres and a thirteen-room 
house with adjoining buildings which will more 
than accommodate the school with its present en- 
rollment, had come on the market two weeks be- 
fore. ‘The property is in a fine location halfway 
between the present school building and the Prado 
lands. The Mission took up the possibility of rent- 
ing, and secured a lease with an option on an ex- 
tension and the right to buy on equal terms with 
any other purchaser. ‘The place is valued at 
$50,000 but might be secured for less. Provided 
the Board can make the necessary increase of 
$1,500 for rent in the budget of the Mission for 
the fiscal year beginning April 1, 1923, the action 
of the Mission will mean that the school will be 
transferred to hygienic quarters with ample play- 
ground space, plenty of air and sunlight, and 
beautiful trees on its own land. 

If there are those in the Church at home who 
wish to make an investment in the Christian edu- 
cation of the girls of Colombia, I recommend to 
them the buying, on behalf of the school, of this 
Barranquilla property. 

A decision was reached at the Mission meeting 
with reference to the location of the new church 
building at Barranquilla. The present building is 
most inadequate, being a little more than a shed 


MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION 37 


located at one end of the girls’ school enclosure. 
Twenty thousand dollars had been provided by 
donors in the United States and $5,000 had been 
subscribed locally for a new church building. 'The 
best site available was a section of the ground 
owned by the present boys’ school which is on high 
land and is centrally located. If the Prado lands 
are secured and a part at least of the school moved, 
the way will be clear for the placing of the church 
on this school lot. The new church building, when 
erected, will be a landmark in the city and will be 
a fine asset for the Protestant cause. 

At this annual meeting of the Colombia Mission, 
just as in the meeting of the Mexico Mission, it 
was necessary to make out the estimate for the 
expenses of the work for the coming fiscal year. 
The estimates of each Mission related to our 
Church are divided into ten classes. ‘The first three 
classes include salaries and allowances of mission- 
aries on the field and on furlough in the homeland, 
as well as appropriations for newly appointed mis- 
sionaries. Class IV includes requests for new 
property for which no appropriations can be made 
unless special gifts are received for this purpose. 
Class V includes estimates for repairs and main- 
tenance of property; Class VI includes Station 
expenses and medical expenses of missionaries 
on the field; and the remaining four classes pertain 
to educational, evangelistic, medical, and literary 
work. Each of the ten classes is divided into va- 
rious subdivisions. Each Station of the Mission 
comes prepared with local estimates arranged ac- 


388 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


cording to these classes. Every Mission carefully 
works out inclusive estimates for the coming year. 
After approving the total sum of the estimates of 
all the Missions, which must be well within the 
limits assigned by the Executive Commission of 
General Assembly, the Mission Board appeals for 
its budget to the Church as a whole. 

It is difficult to conceive of any budget which is 
more carefully made up than that of our Missions, 
or into which there enters such close scrutiny and 
calculation. I wish that some of the members of 
the Church at home could be present in the annual 
Mission meeting when the budgets are under con- 
sideration. Unless special authorization is given 
by the Board, and unless the gifts of the Church 
warrant an increase, each Mission must keep its 
estimates for the coming year within the limits of 
the appropriation assigned for the closing year. 
It is a hard task for the Mission and for the various 
Stations, in the face of all the pressing needs of the 
ever expanding work, to apportion the limited 
funds at their disposal and to keep the total within 
the sum apportioned to them. In Colombia, out- 
side the salaries and allowances of the missionaries 
themselves, for the remaining seven classes cover- 
ing the work of the five Stations, including five 
schools, a printing press and bookstore, as well as 
traveling expenses related directly to evangelistic 
work among a population of over six million people, 
there was available this year the total sum of 
$15,933. It was no easy task at the meeting of the 
Colombia Mission to bring all requests within this 


MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION 39 


total, but with the single exception of the sum of 
$1,500, requested for rent for the girls’ school, the 
amount to be presented to the Board and to the 
Church was the same for the coming year as for 
the year ending in March. This amount represents 
practically the total annual Protestant investment 
in these classes of work in Colombia; it ought to be 
doubled in the near future. 

Urgent requests for additional missionaries are 
being sent to the Board and the home Church. A 
man in educational work is needed at once for the 
boys’ school in Barranquilla and another for the 
boys’ school in Bogota, so that the limited staff will 
suffer no further breakdowns. Another young 
woman is needed immediately for the faculty of the 
girls’ school; and an ordained man is required 
for the evangelistic work of Barranquilla Station 
to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of 
Mr. Candor. These reénforcements are needed at 
once; indeed it is difficult to see how the work can 
be maintained at its present level, unless volunteers 
are led to offer themselves for this service within 
the early months of this new year. A much larger 
list of candidates needed, based on a five-year pro- 
gram for the Mission, is also being submitted to 
the Board and Church. 

During the second week of the Mission meeting, 
the local Church observed the Week of Prayer 
which is universally recognized in all Protestant 
lands. Representatives of the Mission met with 
them at their evening meetings for this observance; 
there were other meetings and engagements which 


40 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


helped to fill nearly every hour of our two weeks in 
Barranquilla. The Mission met with the local 
foreign community, and Dr. Browning and I 
visited the neighboring schools maintained by the 
Jesuits and by a Catholic order known as the 
Christian Brothers. We called on the Assistant 
Director of Education of the Department, and on 
the Secretary to the Governor of the Department. 
Both teachers and officials were cordial and seemed 
appreciative of our schools and ready to codperate 
in this service in behalf of the youth of Colombia. 

The last meeting of the Mission was held on 
Saturday, January 13. After inspiring meetings 
with the local church the following Sunday, on 
Monday the fifteenth, Dr. Browning and I started 
up the Magdalena River in company with the mis- 
sionaries who were stationed outside of Barran- 
quilla. 

Many of the decisions reached at the Mission 
meeting involved a certain venture of faith, and 
a trust in the increased support of the work by the 
Church on the field and at home. In accordance 
with recent decisions by the Executive Commission 
of the General Assembly, giving more latitude to 
the Boards of the Church for special financial ef- 
forts within the limits of the total budget allotted 
to the Church, campaigns will be planned for 
Mexico and Colombia for this fall. With the ex- 
ception of the share which Latin America had in 
the larger campaign in 1916-1917, for other fields, 
in which Colombia and Mexico were included in a 
limited way, there has not been for many years 


MEETING OF THE COLOMBIA MISSION 41 





any organized financial effort made on behalf of 
the work in these two lands. The work in Co- 
lombia is the oldest work of our Church in South 
America; Mexico is our nearest neighbor. We 
have seen with our own eyes the courage and 
fidelity, the “ work of faith and labor of love and 
patience of hope in our Lord Christ Jesus,” of 
the missionaries in these countries who have been 
battling in far too thin ranks against great odds. 
In this spiritual warfare, they have given and are 
giving their most precious possessions, their entire 
capital, their health, and life itself. Surely the 
Church at home will provide, in equal measure, the 
interest, the prayers, and the financial support that 
will help to bring results commensurate with the 
spiritual investments already made. 

In the introduction to his report on the Missions 
in India and Persia, which he visited last year, 
Dr. R. E. Speer wrote: “ We have been with the 
men and women who most richly embody the Chris- 
tian spirit and who are most nearly reproducing 
the work of the Apostolic Church.” As we have 
met with our fellow missionaries during these past 
days in Colombia, as we have listened to their 
prayers, as we have seen their earnestness and de- 
votion in the face of many difficulties and limita- 
tions, we have felt again and again the full force 
of these words; we believe that any material ad- 
ditions to the structure of the Kingdom which they 
are trying to build, will be wise and enduring in- 
vestments because the whole edifice will be founded 
upon the Rock which is Christ. 


CHAPTER V 
UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 


Bogota, 
January 29, 1923 


HE trip up the Magdalena River and over 
the mountains to Bogota is unique among the 
journeys to the capital cities of the world. 

It is unique in the time and the number of 
transfers required for the trip. Six changes must 
be made. The journey of 880 miles inland, about 
the same distance as from New York to Chicago, 
requires, on the average, ten days; occasionally 
in the dry season, when the river is low, three weeks 
or a month are consumed on the way. One of our 
missionary families spent twenty-four days on this 
expedition last year. The first part of the route 
is by rail from Puerto Colombia on the sea, seven- 
teen miles to Barranquilla. There the traveler em- 
barks on a river boat which takes him 592 miles up 
the meandering Magdalena to the town of La 
Dorada. Rapids and a falls near Honda make 
further travel on this boat impossible, so one boards 
a train on the Dorada Extension Railway which 
carries him sixty-nine miles to Beltran. From 
there, another smaller boat steams up the narrow- 
ing ‘“‘ Upper River” ninety-five miles to Girardot. 
Here a transfer to a railroad is made for the trip 
of 107 miles out of the valley and up over the 

42 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 43 


mountain range to Bogota, which is situated on 
the plain or sabana, 8850 feet above sea level. 
This journey cannot be made without a change, 
however, for the first section of the railroad, known 
as the Girardot Railway, which is eighty-two miles 
in length, has a track a yard in width, while the 
final portion of twenty-five miles on the Sabana 
Railway from Facatativa to Bogota has a meter 
gauge. As a means of rapid transit between the 
chief port and the capital and largest city of the 
country, there are few lands in which this route 
can be duplicated. The words of Lord Murray in 
his introduction to Dr. Veatch’s book, Quito to 
Bogota, seem justified, “In point of view of 
locomotion, the country is little in advance of the 
days when Sir Francis Drake appeared with his 
ships outside the walled city of Cartagena.” Dur- 
ing these half-dozen transfers from train to boat, 
from boat to train, and from train to train, with 
eleven days consumed in these various combinations 
and permutations, the city of Bogota took on a 
certain mythical aspect, and we seemed to be in 
pursuit of another El Dorado. The first sight of 
the capital was consequently attended by sensations 
of considerable pleasure and relief. 

The trip down the river in high water is some- 
what shorter, requiring less than a week. By con- 
trast, a hydro-airplane, which carries passengers 
and mail and is managed by an enterprising Ger- 
man firm with German pilots, makes the journey 
of 600 miles by the air route from Barranquilla to 
Girardot in nine hours. The price for the trip up 


44 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the river made such transportation out of the ques- 
tion for us; but the cost of the down-river trip, due 
to the corresponding decrease in steamship rates 
on account of the shorter time en route, is less ex- 
pensive; and it will be difficult for one of us not to 
take advantage of this aérial route on the return 
trip from Bogota. 

In the second place, the means of transportation 
up the river is uniquely anachronistic. The trip is 
made in a blunt-nosed, flat-bottomed, three-storied, 
stern-wheeled, wood-burning steamer, which looks 
like a cross between the old Mississippi River craft 
and a Jersey City ferryboat. 'The boats make 
about six miles an hour upstream and twelve miles 
an hour downstream. In the swifter portions of 
the river the steamers pant and blow great sparks 
and live coals from their wood fires, which shower 
on the upper decks and make a marvelous pyro- 
technic display. The staterooms are ranged on 
either side of the central hall where the dining 
tables are placed. The woodwork of the boats is 
light, and the sun beating upon the upper rooms 
makes one flee in the morning to the west side and 
in the afternoon to the east to escape its rays. Each 
passenger provides his own blankets and equipment 
for his stateroom, this arrangement having certain 
obvious advantages. The pilot house is on the 
upper deck; the chief pilot has two assistants who 
help him whirl the wheel as the boat seeks to follow 
the shifting channel. The boats do not draw over 
four feet, but as they usually carry along a bongo, 
or barge, on either side, the three boats thus require 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 45 


a wide channel. In places where the depth of the 
river is in doubt the pilot rings a bell; two deck 
hands spring out to either side of the broad bow 
with long poles on which foot measurements are 
indicated; they sound, and call out the depth, yell- 
ing, ““ Hey!” to the pilot when there is deep water, 
and giving the number of feet in more shallow 
places. ‘The pilots show extraordinary skill in the 
control of the boats; when in doubt or in difficulties 
they sometimes whirl the ships completely around, 
almost within their own length, and then try an- 
other channel. ‘The bed and banks of the lower 
river are of soft mud so there is no great danger 
when the boats run aground, though in low water 
there is a possibility of being stuck for an un- 
pleasantly long time. We passed three such boats 
on the way up the river; one of them was hopelessly 
high and dry and the cargo was being moved to 
several barges. We went aground twice but soon 
floated free again, and so had no unpleasant ex- 
periences of this kind in reaching our destination. 

One incident occurred, however, which caused 
some commotion. One night while turning quickly 
in the swift water above Puerto Berrio the rudder 
broke; the ship was anchored in midstream, but a 
heavy storm of wind and rain came up, and the 
boat started to drag her anchors and to drift down- 
stream. The rudder was repaired. temporarily by 
the sailors, who worked in the water, and about 
midnight we moved up the river again. ‘The next 
day further repairs were made in a convenient cove, 
the deck hands, who had stripped for the task, re- 


46 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


garding the diving and delving in water and mud 
with evident relish; and the trip on the lower river 
was completed without further mishap. 

We had originally secured accommodations at 
Barranquilla on the oil-burning steamship Pi- 
chincha, one of the first of the Magdalena River 
steamers to use that fuel, but the boat was delayed 
in sailing, and at the last minute our wood-burning 
steamer, the Ayacucho, was substituted in its 
place. The oil-burning steamers make better time 
up the river because of their avoidance of so many 
delays in taking on firewood, but we were thankful 
later that we had made the change, as through some 
carelessness on the part of the engineer or crew of 
the Pichincha an explosion occurred on board 
when the boat was an hour above Puerto Berrio, 
about the same place where the accident occurred 
to the rudder of our ship, and a number of the 
passengers in the third class and of the crew were 
killed or wounded. Fortunately the oil on board 
was not ignited, but the ship was forced to return 
to Puerto Berrio and there was a considerable de- 
lay in the forwarding of passengers and freight. 

In the third place, the journey is quite extraor- 
dinary in the great extents of virgin forest and 
jungle which are traversed. In the whole 592 miles 
from Barranquilla to La Dorada, there are not 
more than half a dozen towns and villages with a 
population of over three thousand. ‘There are soli- 
tary huts and groups of two or three of these homes 
scattered at long intervals on the banks of the river, 
but the country as a whole is unsettled and unde- 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 47 


veloped. In Colombia, along the Magdalena, ex- 
cept for the difference between the foliage of the 
Tropical and Temperate Zones, one sees to-day 
such a wilderness as must have at one time covered 
certain portions of our own land. The thick forest 
reaches to the very river banks; it presses upon 
the solitary little clearings and their clusters of 
thatched huts, with an ever-present threat of swal- 
lowing them completely and covering all signs of 
human habitation with its vines and lianas and ex- 
uberant vegetation. These little centers of human 
life and activity seem to be in perpetual danger 
of the fate which befell the Indian village in Kip- 
ling’s Letting in the Jungle. 

The contrast between this Magdalena River val- 
ley, where there are practically no signs of human 
handiwork, and the valley of the Yangtze River, 
where practically every square foot of ground has 
been cultivated and where nature is in practically 
complete subjugation, is most striking and impres- 
sive. The climate of the Colombian Valley is no 
worse than that of the Yangtze and of other river 
valleys in China; but there has not been in Co- 
lombia the crowding of a great population which 
has necessitated the development of all arable land, 
and the Colombians as yet have not displayed the 
patient industry and endurance of hardship which 
are typical of the Chinese. 

From our boat on the Magdalena we saw tropi- 
cal birds of brilliant plumage flitting among the 
trees along the river banks; we heard macaws and 
parrakeets calling to one another as we passed; 


48 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


swallows with delicately tinted wings flew over our 
boat; herons and cranes and other waterfowl, more 
bright in hue than their North American kindred, 
waded sedately along the shallows or splashed 
noisily out of the lagoons. On the sand bars in 
certain sections of the river we saw crocodiles, or 
caimanes as the Colombians call them, of extraor- 
dinary size and length, some of them sleeping with 
their ugly mouths wide open, giving us a clear view 
of their great teeth. Many of these reptiles were 
fully twelve feet in length; on some stretches of 
sand there would be six or eight in a row. 

In Westward Ho, Charles Kingsley tells a 
graphic story of Amyas Leigh’s rescue of Araca- 
nora from one of these reptiles in the upper Mag- 
dalena River; various modern tales were told us 
of adventures with them. At one town, Bocas del 
Rosario, two of our missionaries some years ago, 
were called upon to attend a Colombian who had 
been attacked and severely wounded by one of 
these crocodiles. He had been standing in the 
water loading his canoe when he heard a splash 
behind him and, fearing an attack, threw himself 
upon his canoe. ‘The crocodile opened its mouth 
and took in both man and boat, its upper jaw clos- 
ing on the man’s back, its lower jaw passing under 
the canoe. A companion saw the attack, seized a 
rifle, and, despite the danger to his friend, shot the 
crocodile, which slid back into the water, its upper 
teeth scarring the man’s back as it did so. There 
were the marks of four of these teeth in the man’s 
back, the wounds had been filled with raw cotton, 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 49 


thirty-six hours had passed, and infection had set 
in. Neither Mr. Williams nor Mr. Barber are 
medical men but they attended to the wounded 
man’s needs as well as they could, and then went 
on with their boat. A few years later Mr. Williams 
heard that the man had survived the adventure 
without any permanent injury. A passenger of 
another boat told Mr. Lee of seeing a man who 
had fallen overboard, and who tried to swim for the 
shore, seized by a crocodile just as he was grasping 
a limb of a tree to pull himself upon the bank, and 
so dragged back into the river. 

The sight of these beasts on the banks and sand 
bars so near the boat was too tempting for us, and, 
after securing permission from the captain accord- 
ing to the custom, Dr. Browning and I varied the 
work which we were trying to do on the boat by 
intervals of shooting with his revolver at these 
saurian targets. We heard other shots and later 
saw the chief pilot, standing in the pilot house, 
trying his skill with the rifle, thus combining work 
and sport in an unusual manner. 

In addition to this bird and animal life, at night 
clouds of insects clustered about the boat, filling 
the halls and crowding madly about the lights on 
the deck and in the staterooms. 

The whole river valley has changed little since 
the time when Quesada’s men forced their way 
along its banks. Even in our comparatively 
modern craft the glaring heat of the day and the 
enervating humidity of the night were unpleasant 
factors in the journey. In Barranquilla, I had 


50 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


contracted one of the prevalent fevers there, which 
lasted for a few days on the lower river. From 
my enforced horizontal position in the little state- 
room, the surrounding jungle and forest seemed to 
take on an even more menacing and oppressive as- 
pect, and I understood better how it must have 
appeared to those early conquistadores who were 
without our modern medicine or resources, and how 
to-day it often seems to our missionaries, who, in 
their itinerating over these ancient trails, face fever 
and hardship. 

A vivid description, in the lighter vein, of the 
trip up the Magdalena has been given by Harry 
Franck in his book, Vagabonding Down the Andes, 
the first chapters of which refer to Colombia: 

“'We moved at about the speed of a log raft 
towed by a sunfish. Day after day we watched the 
monotonous yellow bank unroll with infinite slow- 
ness, like a film clogged in the machine. Here and 
there on the extreme edge of the stream hung a 
few scattered thatched villages, all apparently en- 
gaged in the favorite occupation of doing nothing, 
living on a few fruits and vegetables that grew 
themselves, and drinking the yellow Magdalena 
pure. ... The voracious engines of our boat re- 
quired more halting than movement. Never did 
a half day pass without a long halt to replenish 
the fuel. The sight of a bamboo hut or a cluster 
of shacks, crowded in a little semicircular space 
gouged out of the immense forest, was sure to 
bring a shrill scream from the whistle, and in the 
soft air of the evening we would crawl up to a tiny 


TOOHOS S'THID VITIOONVUUVA AHL AO ALVAdVUD V 








UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 51 


clearing where perhaps thirty cords of wood lay 
awaiting a purchaser. Palm, gourd, mango, and 
papayo trees suggested that the spot might have 
been one of the most flourishing gardens on earth, 
had the inhabitants any other industry or desire 
than to roll about on their earth floors. We passed 
timber enough in a week to supply the world for a 
century and rich soil enough to feed a large sec- 
tion of it permanently. But very rarely did a little 
bamboo hut, roofed with leaves, dot the monotony 
of virgin nature.” 

The nights along the Magdalena are full of a 
vast and transcendent peace. This spirit of peace 
is accentuated by the sense of the illimitable forest 
and jungle stretching away on either bank; the 
great flood of the river, unchecked and uncontrolled 
by any handiwork of man; and above, the stars of 
the tropics, so luminous and so low, with the celes- 
tial cross shining clear and fair above wilderness 
and wandering water and the tiny habitations of 
man. 

But the nights in that valley are also very lonely. 
In the evening we often went to the top deck of 
the steamer to walk and to sing. For the benefit 
of the representatives of various countries on the 
boat we sang their national songs: God Save the 
King, America, and the Colombian national an- 
them. Then we would sing some of the old fa- 
miliar airs of the homeland: Way Down Upon the 
Swanee River, and Carry Me Back to Old Vir- 
ginny. But there was one song that we never sang 
— Home, Sweet Home. One night some one 


52 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


suggested that we sing it; there was a moment’s 
silence, and then we turned to something else. We 
knew that we could not sing that song without a 
break in our voices. I have been much in the woods 
and on many rivers, but I have never seen such 
lonely woods and water as those of that Colombian 
valley. They are made lonelier still by the fact that 
for six hundred miles along that river, from Bar- 
ranquilla to La Dorada, there is not a single 
Protestant missionary or evangelist. For those 
who live along the Magdalena the night is indeed 
dark and they are far from home, and there is no 
kindly light to lead them on. 

Together with the missionaries, who were sta- 
tioned outside Barranquilla, Dr. Browning and I 
boarded the steamship Ayacucho of the P. A. 
Lopez Company on the evening of January 15 
for the first stage of the journey to Bogota. The 
boat started upstream that night; the afternoon of 
the next day we passed Calamar, fifty miles from 
Barranquilla, where the Dique, a half natural, half 
artificial canal, first opened by the Spaniards in 
1570, branches off towards Cartagena, sixty-five 
miles distant. The lower Magdalena averages 
half a mile in width, about half the width of the 
Ohio River, with one quarter to one half the volume 
of water; the upper river resembles more nearly the 
Allegheny as it appears in high water. The lower 
river falls on an average of one foot a mile; the 
upper river four feet to the mile, the total navigable 
length averaging two feet to the mile in compari- 
son with the fall of half a foot per mile of the Ohio. 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 53 


On the seventeenth we passed the mouth of the 
Cauca River, the largest tributary of the Mag- 
dalena, whose valley is famous for its beauty and 
productivity; on the nineteenth, we reached Bocas 
del Rosario, the scene of the attack of the “ cai- 
man” upon the Colombian in his canoe; on the 
twentieth, early in the morning, we arrived at 
Puerto Wilches, a mere cluster of nondescript huts, 
where the passengers for Bucaramanga disem- 
barked for the four-day trip, by train and by mule, 
for that city. I had planned to go to Bucaramanga 
with Dr. Browning, Mr. Barber and Mr. Williams, 
but because of the fever which had accompanied me 
from Barranquilla, it did not seem wise to attempt 
this trip. With much regret I gave up that plan 
and said good-by to the three who left the boat at 
Puerto Wilches according to the original schedule. 
We made arrangements later by wire to make con- 
nections at Belen, 145 miles by auto road from 
Bogota. Dr. Browning will write the next two 
travel letters about Bucaramanga and the four-day 
trip overland by mule to Belen. 

On the twentieth we passed Barranca Bermeja, 
an oil center and river port for the distribution of 
the petroleum which has been discovered several 
miles inland. American and Canadian capital has 
been invested in the development of these oil con- 
cessions; at Barranca Bermeja, in addition to the 
village where the Colombians live, a “ boom town,” 
with a population of about one hundred Canadians 
and Americans, has arisen. Another center of 
about the same size has grown up a little farther 


54 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


inland at the wells. The houses are well built and 
well screened; there is a good hospital there; men 
in sombreros and the familiar costume of oil pros- 
pectors in the States rode through the streets of 
the little town and up to the boat landing; and all 
through the village there was an air of energy and 
efficiency and cleanliness that contrasted sharply 
with the other scenes along the river. It took 
Quesada and his soldiers, in their march inland in 
1536, eight months to reach Barranca Bermeja. 
Just above the town the Opon River enters the 
Magdalena; there Quesada rallied his men, who 
wished to turn back, ascended the Opon Valley, and 
thus reached the highlands near Bogota. The val- 
ley of the Opon River to-day is unsettled, and is 
inhabited by roving bands of Indians, who occa- 
sionally attack travelers in that region. Five years 
ago a former member of the faculty of our boys’ 
school at Bogota was killed by these Indians. It 
would be an interesting turn of fate if, at this par- 
ticular point, oil should be found in paying quanti- 
ties, the value of which would far outweigh that of 
the gold of El Dorado which Quesada was seeking. 

On Sunday, the twenty-first, a service in Spanish 
on board our boat was conducted by Mr. Lee and 
Mr. Allan, of the Bogota Station. Practically all 
the male passengers in the first-class quarters at- 
tended and gave an interested and respectful hear- 
ing to the message, an indication of the growing 
open-mindedness of the Colombian people toward 
Protestant work. 

At Puerto Berrio, which we reached that after- 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 55 


noon, the Medellin missionaries disembarked for 
the trip next day by rail to that station. On the 
evening of ‘Tuesday, the twenty-third, we reached 
La Dorada, an unimpressive town of about 1,000 
inhabitants, the terminal of navigation on the lower 
river. We stayed on the boat that night and the 
next morning took an early train on the Dorada 
Extension Railway to Beltran. An hour and a 
half’s ride brought us to Honda, where the old 
Spanish mule road turns off to go to Bogota. This 
was the regular route to the capital before the rail- 
roads were built; when Dr. Speer visited Colombia 
in 1909, he took this road to Bogota, as at that time 
travel over that road was quicker and more certain 
than by the railroads. The difference in scenery 
and general atmosphere in the twenty odd miles be- 
tween La Dorada and Honda was striking. After 
our eight days in the hot Magdalena Valley it 
seemed that we were doomed to continue indefi- 
nitely ascending its muddy flood, with the thick, 
oppressive jungle surrounding us, the creepers and 
vines and lianas seemingly fettering our freedom 
and binding us to this steaming waterway. But 
near Honda we came out on high land, and were 
lifted above all these tropical entanglements. 
Mountains, irregular and fantastically shaped, 
with cathedral rocks and similar formations, were 
on either side of the river, instead of the low, level 
expanse of the tropical plain. ‘The trees and foli- 
age became more and more those of the Temperate 
Zone. The plains were covered with grass and 
shrubbery instead of the thick jungle growth, and 


56 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


had broad, level reaches which must have delighted 
Quesada and his horsemen, and which meant suc- 
cess for their expedition. The river valley and 
banks also were transformed. Instead of mud 
banks we saw gravel beaches and rocky bluffs; the 
river became more narrow and deep and swift and 
its course more winding, with many rapids, or 
“ riffles,” full of treacherous eddies and whirlpools. 

There is a marked difference in the intellectual 
and religious spirit which dominates the inhabitants 
of this region, and the towns along the railroads of- 
fer some of the most promising fields for the devel- 
opment of the work of our Church. At Honda, a 
town of 10,000, a liberal school, as opposed to those 
controlled by the Roman Catholics, was opened 
several years ago, and has been making progress, 
with a present enrollment of about 100 students. 
English is given a special place in the curriculum 
of the school, although there are no foreign teachers 
on its faculty. Meetings have been conducted at 
intervals by members of the Bogota Station during 
the past few years, and the town is favorably dis- 
posed to the work of our Church. At the recent 
meetings held by the evangelists, Rev. H. H. 
Strachan and Rev. Roberto Elphick, in a theater 
which formerly was used as a bull ring, about 1,200 
people were present every night. The Mission 
has approved the establishment of permanent work 
there as soon as possible, the town to be considered 
an outstation of Bogota. At present the Mission 
owns no property in Honda; there is a desirable 
plot of land for sale near the railroad station, which 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 57 


the Bogota Station believes should be purchased 
by the Mission. 

We passed Mariquita, a town of about 3,000 
people, where a converted ex-priest conducts a 
boys’ school, and where cottage meetings have been 
held regularly all year. A cableway for the trans- 
portation of freight is being built between Mari- 
quita and Manizales, a distance of forty-five miles. 
When completed this cable line will pass over a 
mountain range, 12,000 feet in height, and will be 
the largest of its kind in the world. At present it 
extends from Mariquita to Frutillo, a distance of 
twenty-two miles. Quesada passed his last years 
in Mariquita and died there in his eightieth year. 
He died a leper and in his will left funds for the 
supplying of water for travelers and those in need. 
If Quesada were living to-day he would see that 
the needs of the sick and friendless in Colombia 
are relatively as great as in his own time, and that 
on every hand there are calls for generous and 
scientific philanthropy and medical help. 

We passed San Lorenzo, a town of about the 
same size as Mariquita, where a fine-looking group 
of friends and supporters of our work came to the 
station to greet us. The Mission owns property in 
San Lorenzo which is used for the chapel, the 
school, and the residence of the Colombian worker 
in charge. San Lorenzo is the key to the develop- 
ment of our work in eight towns, one with a popu- 
lation of 10,000, which are situated in the adjacent 
mountains. Rev. A. M. Allan, of the Bogota Sta- 
tion, has been the leader in the work of our Church 


58 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


in these towns. A twelve hours’ ride on horseback 
will take one from the semitropical surroundings of 
San Lorenzo to the snow line on the great shoulder 
of Mount Ruiz. In these itinerating trips, Mr. 
Allan has been accompanied at times by Mrs. Allan 
and by their small daughter, “ Pixie.” ‘The spirit of 
their work in this territory is indicated by an ex- 
tract from a Letter from Colombia, written by 
Mrs. Allan in June, 1921: 

“From Frias we rode back to San Lorenzo. 
For sheer delight, it would be impossible to find 
anything to compare with those rides; the peace of 
God in your heart, a good horse under you, the 
joyful expectation of soul-satisfying service await- 
ing you at the journey’s end, the sight of a cur- 
tained hamper bobbing cheerfully up and down 
as the peon trots steadily ahead, an ideal com- 
panion at your side, to say nothing of a little 
daughter’s merry chatter and the song of birds in 
your ears. Has life anything better to offer? Is 
there any bliss like it in all the wide world? Surely 
missionary service does fill one’s cup with joy 
pressed down and running over.” 

About one-thirty in the afternoon we reached 
Beltran and there boarded a diminutive steamer 
named La Union for the run on the Upper River 
to Girardot. The boat was about half the length 
and a quarter of the tonnage of the steamer on the 
Lower River, and measured about 100 feet in 
length with a twenty-five-foot beam. We had read 
that a boat by this name first steamed up the Upper 
River in 1840, and from the size and appearance of 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 59 


La Union we thought that possibly this might be 
the same steamer. A “ glider,” propelled by gas- 
oline, makes the journey to Girardot in three hours, 
while the upstream trip by boat requires seventeen 
or eighteen, but as we could not all take advantage 
of this means of transportation, we chose the more 
prosaic craft. ‘There were no staterooms available 
for the male passengers on the boat, so we slept 
that night on cots on the forward ‘deck. 'The boat 
ran all night, which is quite a feat in that section 
of the river with its many rapids, abrupt turns, and 
deceptive whirlpools, and we reached Girardot at 
eight-thirty the morning of the twenty-fifth. 

Despite the efforts of the captain and the crew 
of our vessel we missed the seven-thirty train for 
Bogota, and so spent the day in Girardot. This 
town has about 10,000 inhabitants, and due to its 
position at the juncture of railroad and river traffic, 
has grown rapidly in size and influence. The 
people there are decidedly liberal, and Mr. Allan, 
of the Bogota Station, has secured land and prop- 
erty for a school there, which was opened early in 
February of this year. 

The history of the Colombia Mission is full of 
lost opportunities for purchasing desirable land 
and property. The members of the Mission have 
pointed out to us various plots of ground which 
could have been secured ten years ago for one tenth 
of their price to-day. So in Girardot, opportuni- 
ties for buying needed property in this outstation 
of Bogotdé have been allowed to pass for lack of 
funds, until finally Mr. Allan invested the money 


60 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


he had set apart for his children’s education in the 
land and building for the school which has just been 
opened. ‘The school property consists only of a 
thatched house on a quarter-acre corner lot, but 
there is consecrated money invested there, and love 
and faith and sacrifice, and such investments will 
inevitably bring dividends in the world of spiritual 
values. A fine lot for a church site can be pur- 
chased at an important crossroads in the northern 
part of the city, near the school building, for the 
sum of $700. I think that our Church should help 
the Mission to acquire this land and, with Mission 
approval, should also pay back to Mr. Allan the 
money which he has put into the school property, 
a total of $1,250. Lots adjoining the present land 
secured for the school can be bought at moderate 
prices now, but their value will inevitably increase 
in the near future. 

On the morning of the twenty-sixth we boarded 
the narrow-gauge Girardot Railway train for the 
final stage of our journey to Bogota. Girardot is 
1,066 feet above sea level. We ascended over 8,000 
feet in crossing the range which guards the sabana, 
or plain of Bogota. On account of the somewhat 
uncomfortable contrast in altitude and tempera- 
ture between the river valley and Bogota, many 
passengers break their journey overnight at La 
Esperanza, an attractive resort 4,000 feet above 
sea level, which we reached about noon. The Mis- 
sion has approved of placing a rest house here for 
the missionaries in Bogota, and the funds needed, 
$5,000, ought to be given. 


UP THE MAGDALENA RIVER TO BOGOTA 61 





When the train topped the mountain crest and 
emerged on the broad plain of Bogota, it seemed 
as if a section of Southern California had been 
dropped down among these tropical mountains. 
The level, fertile plain of Bogota stretches for 
twenty miles in one direction and ten in another, 
with finger-like extensions projecting in various 
directions from the northern boundary; this plain 
and its extensions are part of a larger plateau which 
is fifty by three hundred miles in extent. From the 
car windows herds of fine cattle were visible on 
either side of the track; stately rows of eucalyptus 
trees ornamented the plain. At Facatativa, a town 
of about 6,000 people, and a promising potential 
center for our work, we made the last change to 
the meter-gauged Sabana Railroad, which was to 
carry us to the capital. An hour later we saw the 
first buildings of Bogota, and beyond the city, the 
two guardian mountains of Monserrat and Gua- 
dalupe, the former crowned by a sanctuary with 
cream-colored walls, surmounted by a graceful 
spire, delicately outlined against the cerulean blue 
of the evening sky. 

The “ Athens of South America” was before 
us. ‘To reach it we had traveled over a long, long, 
trail, which had gone winding through a land that 
often seemed like a dream; but when at last we 
saw before us the city, sheltered by its noble twin 
mountains, the white walls of its houses and govern- 
mental “ palaces” shining in the clear air of the 
Andes, we felt amply repaid for any time or effort 
spent in the ascent to this Colombian acropolis. 


CHAPTER VI 
OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA 


BucaRAMANGA, 
January 25, 1923 


UCARAMANGA, the center of one of the 

Stations of the Presbyterian Mission in Co- 
lombia, is the capital of the Department of San- 
tander which lies well to the east on the borders of 
Venezuela. To reach the city of Bucaramanga, 
one leaves the Magdalena River at Puerto Wilches 
and travels about eighty-five miles into the interior. 
The travel of the first day is by train, although the 
distance run is only about sixteen miles and the 
equipment of the train is the most primitive that 
one could imagine. The railway, which is supposed 
to reach Bucaramanga, when completed, was be- 
gun some twenty-five years ago, but, for various 
reasons, mostly political, construction has been slow 
and at times has entirely ceased. 

We left the steamer early in the morning of 
January 20, and were told that the train would 
start for the interior at one o’clock in the afternoon. 
It was hot in the streets of the little port and there 
was no hotel in which to find refuge; consequently 
we bought some cord and a few fishhooks and spent 
considerable time trying to lure the splashing fish 
in the direction of our enticing bait, but without 
success. Boys near us, with the most elementary 

62 


OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA 63 


equipment, seemed to have no difficulty in drawing 
out large and seemingly edible specimens of the 
fish of the region, but our own attempts were fruit- 
less. 

Finally, the train came in, but it was after three 
o’clock before we were started for the interior and 
we reached the end of the line at half past five. 
This part of the journey is not difficult and it is a 
pleasure to ride through the tropical forest, even 
in a train of such extreme simplicity as that which 
carried us, and note the manner of life of those who 
live in this region and manage to do their work in 
spite of the intense heat that always prevails. 

We spent the night in a small inn situated on the 
top of one of the hills near the terminal station, 
where we were somewhat freer from the mosquitoes 
that swarm in the lower levels, and our real journey 
began the following morning when we took mules 
for the ride of three days to Bucaramanga. Mr. 
Williams had telegraphed ahead, asking that his 
agent secure “a lusty mule for a heavy horseman,” 
but, on inspecting the one that had been sent down 
for my use, and having in mind a fair sample of 
the Missouri breed, I feared that the order had not 
been understood and that we might reach Bucara- 
manga with the carrying process reversed. But 
I confess to a pleasing disappointment. ‘The mule, 
although of but slight proportions, was certainly 
“lusty ’ and carried me safely over many a sway- 
ing bridge and single planks that serve for bridges 
across the mountain streams, up and down precipi- 
tous hills where a horse could scarcely have found 


64 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


a foothold, through the tangled forest and across 
sandy plains under the fierce rays of a torrid sun, 
and, soon after noon of the third day, landed me 
safely in front of the Charles W. Williams Me- 
morial Home in Bucaramanga, in a more placid 
state of mind and comfortable condition of body 
than was her rider. 

On the first day of this ride to Bucaramanga, 
the trail leads up from the end of the railway line 
to Puerto Santos, on the Lebrija River, about 
twenty-five miles in distance. It leads through 
the tropical forest which is threaded by numerous 
streams of water and in which all kinds of tropi- 
cal animals flourish. ‘The region is among the 
most mortiferous in all Colombia, if not in all 
South America. This is due to the fact that 
a virulent type of malarial fever is endemic, and 
that hookworm and other diseases peculiar to the 
tropics claim their victims without any intervention 
of science which might lessen the annual toll. 
There is no doctor in Puerto Wilches or along the 
trail until one reaches a small town near Bucara- 
manga. When I asked one of the residents who 
cared for them when they are ul, with a shrug of 
the shoulders he replied, “ La Providencia.’” It 
is verily a trail along which “ pestilence walketh in 
darkness,” and “ destruction . . . wasteth at noon- 
day.” Yet our missionaries have been traveling it 
for years and I doubt that the home Church has 
had any idea of the risks they were taking. The 
missionaries have accepted it as a part of the work 
and have said little about it. 


OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA 65 


We spent the second night of our trip in a shed, 
surrounded by workmen who were suffering from 
paludic fevers, and were visited by mosquitoes of a 
peculiarly voracious type, that had, no doubt, come 
directly to us from those who were burning with 
malaria. Just back of our shed flowed the rushing 
stream of the Lebrija River, which takes its name 
from one of the early Spanish explorers, a com- 
panion of Jiménez de Quesada in the conquest of 
New Granada for the Catholic kings of Spain. 
Captain Lebrija was devoured by crocodiles near 
the mouth of the river that now bears his name and 
where these terrible saurians still breed in myriads 
in the swamps through which the river winds its 
muddy course to the Magdalena. 

We were up early on the morning of the second 
day for a ride of twenty-four miles to a farmhouse 
where we were to spend the night. The trail still 
wound through the forest, with its constantly 
changing scenery seeming more beautiful and im- 
pressive as we proceeded. As we started out in 
the early morning, we heard the scolding of the 
monkeys on the near-by trees that lined the banks 
of the gorge up which the trail leads, and heard 
them again, at intervals during the day. ‘These 
simians have learned from hard experience that it 
is wiser to keep out of sight of passing travelers, 
but the sound of their voices as they discussed us 
left nothing to be imagined as to their opinion of 
the entire human species. 

In these same forests are to be found all kinds 
of reptiles, from the huge boa constrictor that often 


66 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


measures from twenty to thirty feet in length to 
the small “ wasp snake” that strikes but once and, 
like the bee, sacrifices its own life. Leopards, 
jaguars, deer of various species, bears, wild hogs, 
a number of smaller animals, and a great variety 
of birds make their homes in this region. It would 
be impossible to name the multitudinous forms of 
insect life that swarm on every hand. A repre- 
sentative of the Carnegie Museum is reported to 
have taken over three hundred and fifty species of 
birds in one month and on a single estate through 
which we passed. 

On the Lebrija River, near where we spent the 
night, and whose winding course we followed dur- 
ing the day, the Colombia Syndicate, an American 
oil company, has established a station. A number 
of Americans direct the work and a considerable 
number of Colombians are employed. ‘They have 
a local doctor and, due to modern sanitary methods 
and other strict prophylactic measures, the camp 
has been converted into the healthiest spot in all this 
region. Farther up the Magdalena River, above 
Puerto Wilches, near the port of Barranca Ber- 
meja, the Tropical Oil Company, a branch of the 
Standard Oil Company, has also opened a promis- 
ing field and has established refineries which pro- 
duce a high grade of gasoline and kerosene. 

We spent the night of the second day at El 
Tambor, the administration center of one of the 
largest farms in Colombia. 'The evils of the system 
of latifundia, which has done much to maintain a 
large part of the population of Latin America in 


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OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA 67 


a state of semi-servitude, was illustrated in this 
great establishment, which, nevertheless, under 
owners graduated in our best American universi- 
ties, is one of the best administered of the many 
we have seen in this or other countries. ‘The estate 
embraces a tract of land which measures twelve 
square leagues, or one hundred and eight square 
miles. This amounts to almost seven hundred 
thousand acres, and is but one of several farms 
owned by this same family, in this Department. 
On the morning of the third day we were up by 
four o’clock, in preparation for an early start on 
the journey of twenty-five miles which would ter- 
minate in Bucaramanga. The clear atmosphere of 
the surrounding foothills seemed to bring the sky 
very near to earth, and the stars shone out with 
unusual splendor. The Big Dipper swung low in 
the north, with Polaris barely visible on the hori- 
zon. Of the planets, only Venus and Saturn were 
visible, the former hanging like a pendant flame 
just over the hills to the east while Saturn cast his 
mellow light over the scene from his place a little 
higher up on the ecliptic. The valley below us, 
along the Canaverales River, in the straggling light 
of the dawn, seemed to be filled with fluffy masses 
of snow piled together during the night by some 
giant hand from the tops of the near-by mountains. 
As we continued up the trail, this mass of fog, 
agitated by the morning breezes, took on fantastic 
shapes and finally lifted itself from the low-lying 
valley and drifted away over the hills. When 
the sun finally blazed forth in all his strength, we 


68 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


saw the valley stretching away for many miles and 
the fog was but a small and ever-diminishing cloud 
on the distant horizon. 

The trail led upward and ever upward during 
the day, until we at length reached the summit of 
the divide which separates the plateau on which are 
situated Bucaramanga and other towns of the De- 
partment of Santander from the lowlands of the 
Lebrija and Magdalena Rivers. Yet it had often 
led down into deep gorges and across brawling 
rivers, some of which we crossed on bridges but 
most of which had to be forded, and along yawn- 
ing precipices where the traveler may look straight 
downward for many hundreds of feet to the stream 
that rumbles along on its way to the sea, while the 
overhanging cliff with its dense vegetation provides 
a grateful protection from the burning rays of 
the sun. 

A little after midday we reached the end of 
our journey and were cordially received by Mrs. 
Williams in her home. This is the Charles W. 
Williams Missionary Home, and is located on the 
edge of the city of Bucaramanga on a gentle slope 
that commands the surrounding country, as well 
as the near-by city. It was provided through the 
generosity of Dr. Charles W. Williams and others 
of the Synod of Minnesota, and the ladies of the 
Southwest District, through their Board. 

Rev. T. E. Barber, Chairman of the Executive 
Committee of the Mission, accompanied me on this 
trip, but all the details had been planned by 
Rev. Charles S. Williams, of Bucaramanga Sta- 


OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA 69 


tion, and it was due to his prevision and constant 
vigilance that we reached our destination without 
the slightest mishap and ready for the work that 
lay before us. 

To an understanding of the importance of our 
Mission’s work in this region, some facts must be 
given in regard to the Department of Santander 
which is one of the most important of the republics 
of Colombia. Its population is about five hundred 
thousand and is almost entirely white, in marked 
contrast to the population of the Departments 
along the Caribbean coast and the Magdalena 
River. Bucaramanga is the capital and has a pop- 
ulation of forty thousand. In the villages within 
a radius of a few miles, there are at least sixty 
thousand more. Politically, both the capital and 
the Department are Liberal centers and the people, 
on the whole, are friendly to the work of our Mis- 
sion. ‘There is a strong feeling of distrust of the 
dominant Church and the Liberals are now plan- 
ning to. establish in Bucaramanga a secondary 
school, in order that their children may not have to 
come under the influence of the Jesuits who, at 
present, have the only secondary school in the city 
or Department. 

The principal products of the Department are 
coffee, leaf tobacco and its products, hides, cattle, 
Panama hats, ivory nuts from which buttons are 
made, leather and manufactures from the same, 
sugar, cereals, and a great variety of fruits and 
vegetables. All these exports are carried down the 
long trail up which we traveled, to the head of the 


70 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





railway line or to the river ports, on mules, and it 
is not uncommon to meet hundreds of these patient 
animals staggering along under huge sacks and 
boxes, while on the return trip they bring up 
equally huge cargoes of foreign merchandise. 
Even automobiles and pianos are thus brought into 
Bucaramanga for the delectation of its inhabitants. 

There is evidence, however, that the people are 
tiring of this semi-isolation from the great centers 
and there is an increasing demand that the railway 
be completed. At present, negotiations are being 
perfected which look to the securing of the neces- 
sary capital, and there is great expectation among 
the merchants and producers of the Department. 

As one of the local celebrities put it: ““ We want 
no more of the civilization that comes in on mules. 
We get friars, nuns, scapularies, medallions, 
images, red paint, and other objects to enslave our 
consciences and minds. Let us have something of 
the civilization which comes in on railways, by air- 
plane and wireless: machinery, automobiles, books, 
teachers, and other things that mean progress and 
the uplift of the people!” 

Religiously, as are all other Departments of 
Colombia, Santander is officially Roman Catholic. 
Yet considerable evangelical work has been done 
in the past years and there is an open door for all 
that we may care to do now and in the future. Dr. 
H. B. Pratt, the founder of Presbyterian work in 
Colombia, lived in Bucaramanga for a number of 
years, established preaching services, and itinerated 
to the surrounding villages. He also set up a 


OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA 71 





small press, translated and edited a part of his 
translation of the Bible, maintained a small news- 
paper, and printed many tracts which were widely 
circulated throughout Santander and the neighbor- 
ing Departments. This was about a half century 
ago. Since then, beginning some twenty-five years 
ago, Joseph P. Norwood, an agent of the American 
Bible Society, opened and maintained work for a 
number of years, including the period of the last 
civil war (1899-1903). He gained much sym- 
pathy for the evangelical cause during this trying 
period, especially in his care of the wounded sol- 
diers, but his work was discontinued in 1904 and 
the Presbyterians returned to the task in 1912. 
Mr. and Mrs. Williams were sent to Bucaramanga 
at that time and, with intermissions, amounting to 
about four years, have remained until the present 
time. Late in 1920, Rev. and Mrs. Thomas 
Crocker were assigned to the Station. During the 
present year, 1923, all these missionaries go on 
furlough, that of Mr. and Mrs. Williams being 
almost a year delayed, and the Station will have 
to be abandoned during that time, since there seems 
to be no worker available to take their places. It 
is unfortunate that this should be necessary. No 
Church organization has as yet been effected. 
However, could the work be continued without in- 
terruption, this could soon be done. ‘There are 
over 130 persons who count themselves members of 
the congregation and from this number a nucleus 
could be formed for the organization of a church. 
The Sunday school has an attendance of sixty and 


72 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the midweek meetings a larger number. On Fri- 
day night more than fifty people meet for special 
Bible instruction. There is also a small group of 
young men who meet weekly for special study in 
preparation for leadership. ‘The attendance at the 
chapel, especially when there is something new, is 
large. The first night we were there the number 
exceeded 3380, by actual count, and the following 
night there were many more. This is the largest 
congregation we have had the pleasure of address- 
ing in all Colombia, exceeding even that of the 
church in Barranquilla. 

The present property of the Board in Bucara- 
manga consists of two entire blocks of land, located 
very advantageously just at the edge of the city. 
The total area is 12,400 square meters. On the 
front half of one block are situated the two mis- 
sionary homes, and the other block is vacant. It is 
hoped that on this vacant block a school may 
eventually be erected, while, on the remaining half 
of the other block, there is abundant room for a 
church building, although the site is too far from the 
center of the city to serve for the principal center of 
evangelization. I understand that there is an ap- 
propriation on the books of the Mission of two 
thousand pesos for the acquisition of a site for a 
church or chapel. ‘This sum is not now sufficient 
for the purpose, due to the great increase in values 
of real estate, but a further appropriation should 
be obtained, if at all possible, and the site secured 
with a view to beginning construction as soon as 
may seem advisable. 


OVERLAND TO BUCARAMANGA 73 


It should be said in regard to the Charles W. 
Williams Memorial Home and its companion on 
the same block that they are among the most com- 
fortable missionary homes in all Latin America, 
possibly the most comfortable and best planned 
of all. Those who have so generously contributed 
to the erection of these homes may be assured that 
their generosity will enable future missionaries in 
this Station to do better work because of the im- 
proved health conditions, during many years to 
come. Because of the insalubrious housing of the 
missionary family, one little grave has been occu- 
pied in Bucaramanga. But this period is now past. 
The hard and discouraging work of pioneering, 
in other respects, also, has been largely finished. 
Protestantism stands high in the estimation of the 
people and we ought to go forward from this be- 
ginning to a complete staffing of the Station that 
will enable the workers to go out into the sur- 
rounding villages and completely evangelize the 
Department. With our great Church behind 
us, it ought to be possible to secure such recruits 
as will enable the Mission to carry on both school 
and evangelistic work; to provide for the con- 
struction of needed church and chapel buildings; 
and the training of a body of national helpers 
that will enable our workers to go beyond the 
bounds of the Department of Santander and to 
reach the lands that lie along the frontier of 
Venezuela and to the south and north in Colombia. 
This is a peculiarly Presbyterian task and we can- 
not elude it, even if we so desired. 


74 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


In this connection we found a historical con- 
nection with the life of the Republic of Colombia, 
which ought to be mentioned here in a final para- 
graph. One of the officers in the “ British Le- 
gion,” which took a prominent part in the libera- 
tion of New Granada from the Spanish rule, early 
in the nineteenth century, was a Captain Fraser, 
a Presbyterian. He afterward headed the delega- 
tion that went from Bogota to New York to ask 
our Board to undertake work in the new republic. 
Previously, he had married the niece of General 
Santander, one of the generals under Simon Bol- 
ivar, and his descendants are still to be found scat- 
tered throughout Colombia. As a rule, they are 
still Protestants or friendly to Protestants. One 
of the best known residents of Bucaramanga 
is a granddaughter of Captain Fraser, and, al- 
though unable to attend services because of age 
and infirmities, she is interested in the work and 
loyal to her faith. 

We have inherited a special responsibility for 
all Colombia, but a very particular responsibility 
for the Department of Santander, through this 
valiant Presbyterian who fought for Colombian 
independence, and it now remains for us to cease 
playing at missions in this and other Departments 
and to begin a real work worthy of our faith and 
our Church. 


CHAPTER VII 


ON MULE BACK FROM BUCARAMANGA 
TO BELEN 


Been ve Boyaca, 
January 30, 1923 


HEN Rev. T. E. Barber, Chairman of the 

Executive Committee of the Colombia Mis- 
sion, Mr. Williams, the chairman of the Bucara- 
manga Station, and the writer started up the trail 
from Puerto Wilches, on January 20, we fully 
expected to return by the same route, a week later, 
and thence proceed up the river to the Stations we 
had not yet visited. But, for various reasons, it 
seemed best to change this plan and, while Mr. 
Barber felt obliged to return by the same trail and 
to his own work in Medellin, it was decided that 
Mr. Williams should accompany me on a further 
ride over the mountains, to Belen, about halfway 
to Bogota, my final destination. Mr. Wheeler was 
already in Bogota and had telegraphed me that, 
with Mr. Allan, he would meet me in Belen, coming 
out in an automobile over the great highway built 
by General Reyes, president of the republic many 
years ago. This change of plan meant a ride of 
four days through the high mountain region, with 
the added possibility that, due to some mishap by 
the way, this time might be lengthened consider- 

15 


76 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


ably. However, it also meant that we should not be 
compelled to retrace our steps through the malarial 
districts, but would be up in the high, pure air of 
the mountains, free from noxious animals and in- 
sects, exposed to the cold rather than to the heat, 
and, a matter of great value, it meant the saving 
of several days in our schedule for the further visits 
to be made to the various Stations. 

Accordingly, when this decision was taken, we 
immediately set about the organization of our pack 
train and the securing of riding mules for this 
somewhat taxing trip. I was glad to find that I 
could secure the same doughty little beast that had 
carried me up from the river, and to which refer- 
ence has been made in a former letter. This satis- 
faction was not necessarily shared by the mule, but 
I may run ahead of the story sufficiently to say 
that she again carried me over bridges and across 
streams, up and down precipitous inclines, across 
the high, cold plateaus and into the yard of the 
hotel in Belen, a journey of one hundred miles, 
and seemed perfectly able to continue the journey 
indefinitely, which her rider was not! Only once 
was there a possibility of a mishap. Having care- 
fully selected what must have been the hardest 
piece of rock on the trail, she suddenly fell full 
length, while her rider continued in a straight line 
and measured his six feet on the hard road. How- 
ever, no serious results came from this experiment, 
and it was not repeated. 

The same faithful muleteer also accompanied us 
and, at the end of the ride, begged that I take him 


FROM BUCARAMANGA TO BELEN we 


on with me to ‘“ Nueva York,” where he felt that 
he might better his condition and rise to something 
better than his present work. 

We started out from the city of Bucaramanga 
early in the morning of January 27 and ran the 
first fifteen miles of the journey in an automobile, 
to the little town at the foot of the hills and beyond 
which there is traffic only by means of mules. Here 
we were met by the muleteer with the pack and 
riding animals and were soon in the saddle and 
headed up into the hills, bound for Los Santos, the 
little village where we were to spend the first night 
of the trip. We passed through a number of small 
villages, and found the country in this region rather 
well populated. Some of the villages have electric 
lights, and all looked much cleaner than we had 
expected to find them. We passed many trains 
of mules, coming down from the hills above, carry- 
ing tobacco, coffee, and other products of the De- 
partment, and destined to go on down through 
Bucaramanga and to the Magdalena by the trail 
we had already traversed several days before. 

There are few or no hotels in these towns, but 
there are posadas, or inns, which receive the 
traveler and his beasts and for a very small com- 
pensation give such food and protection as they 
can. The wise traveler will see that his beasts are 
well cared for, even though he may have to sleep 
on a hard board by their side, for, without them, 
he cannot proceed on his journey. We carried food 
to supplement that which we might secure by the 
way, and our cot beds in order to secure freedom 


78 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


from insects, so that all we asked was food for our 
animals and a corner in which to spread our cots. 

We reached Los Santos late at night and found 
that it is a;small village perched almost on the very 
edge of an immense chasm which marks the bed 
of the Sogamoso River, one of the tributaries of © 
the Magdalena. After a comparatively comfort- 
able night, we were astir early and ready to start 
down into the deep gorge which lay before us. 
The heat in this gorge in the middle of the day is 
said to be almost unbearable, and, for that reason, 
we had started long before dawn in the hope of 
getting well up on the other side before the hours 
of greatest heat should overtake us. The bottom 
of the gorge is about one mile below the inn in 
which we had spent the night, but, in order to 
reach it, we had to ride at least three times that 
distance, down the steep sides by means of a zig- 
zag path that twisted and turned on itself every 
few feet. On each side the massive walls rose tier 
on tier and the increasing light, as dawn came upon 
us, showed all the colors of the rainbow, shading 
off into tints and variations that were as bewilder- 
ing as enchanting. It was Sunday, too, and al- 
though we could not attend service as we could have 
desired, yet we easily imagined ourselves in some 
great cathedral, or looking on temples not made 
by the hands of men. Flying buttresses, lofty 
towers, minarets, Gothic windows, and slated roofs, 
all appeared to the fancy as we slowly clambered 
downward and we felt that we were in the presence 
of the Architect of the universe, the God of the 


FROM BUCARAMANGA TO BELEN 79 


open air. The words of Henry van Dyke came to 
us with unusual force: 


“'Thou who hast made Thy dwelling fair 
And set Thine altars everywhere — 
In Thy great out-of-doors! 
To Thee I turn, to Thee I make my prayer, 
God of the open air.” 


One of the missionaries to Colombia, who made 
the trip through this same gorge by night, has 
described it in the following words: 

“We had a difficult bit of travel ahead of us; 
the descent of the precipice, 5000 feet into a gorge, 
the crossing of the river responsible for the gorge, 
and, on the other side, a straight clamber of 6000 
feet to a paramo, a table-land desert. 

“Tt was an enchanting hour for a ride. ‘The soft, 
dim radiance of the moon with her quiet, subdued 
light had a most soothing effect upon us, after many 
days of the blistering glare of the sun on white rocks. 
Things around us took on phantom shapes and 
grew interesting from their very air of mystery. 
The gorges on either side of us, as we slowly felt 
our dim way along the cliff, were brimful of the 
white chiffon of dropped-down clouds, so close 
that we could almost reach out our hands and touch 
it. The drapery of the skies, lavender vestments 
embroidered with silver stars, seemed about to de- 
scend upon our shoulders. The gurgle of a brook 
near at hand and the music of a distant waterfall 
were in our ears, the perfume of flowering trees 
and the scent of dewy shrubs were in our nostrils, 


80 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





the friendly pressing embrace of the woods was 
about us and the magic of the calm night possessed 
us... . At the first pink flush of daylight we 
commenced the descent. By ninety-five steep, short 
inclines, turning every six feet to face the opposite 
direction, we slid and floundered down the preci- 
pice and two hours after sunrise found ourselves 
perpendicularly under our starting point, 5000 
feet above us. We caught the first faint glimmer 
of dawn gliding stealthily over the mountains, 
searching out the giant forms of towering cliffs. 
We descried the spirit of the night, fleeing, leaping 
from cliff to cliff, skulking, hiding, trying to es- 
cape the mocking smile of her enemy, the sun. 
Reaching fingers of light, pointed to us, one by one, 
the gulches, the ravines, the overhanging cliffs, 
clothed in clinging draperies of grey mist... . 
Shadows took form and, here and there, gigantic 
trees loomed threateningly. Rosy tints kissed 
mountain crests while soft blues dropped lower and 
lower until they blended with the indigo of the 
gorges. ... The contrast in color was most strik- 
ing; no artist would have dared reproduce it. Lim- 
pid lakes of soft blue and silver hung suspended 
around peaks, the indigo of deep ocean, splashed 
recklessly with browns and yellows, daubed moun- 
tain slopes, blood-red streaks slashed and gashed 
faces of cliffs, a narrow silver thread which was a 
river framed in vivid green glinted through each 
ravine, while peaks, cliffs, gorges, ravines, all were 
suffused in the wilder lights of purple and orange. 
Here was nature most lavish. Within the sweep 


“grr 





MAGDALENA RIVER STEAMERS 


“We moved at about the speed of a log raft towed 
by a sunfish” (p. 50). 





FROM BUCARAMANGA TO BELEN 81 


of the human eye she flashed out all her beauties, 
and caused puny man to hold his breath in awed 
amazement.” * 

Once during the day we all lost the trail, and 
once, due to mistaken directions, I rode ahead on 
the wrong road and lost almost an hour. But, late 
at night, after a most tiring day, we rode into the 
little town of Mogotes and soon found accommo- 
dations in the principal inn. We were given a 
large upper room and lost little time in extending 
our cots and occupying them, in expectation of our 
much needed rest. 

During the day, as during the whole trip, we 
had been impressed with the large number of vil- 
lages through which we passed, after leaving the 
gorge, and with the fact that no one of them has 
ever been entered by an evangelical missionary for 
the purpose of holding services, so far as there is 
any record. ‘The people seem to be simple and 
kindly disposed, and it is evident that, aside from 
the inevitable opposition of the Roman Catholic 
hierarchy, there would be but little difficulty in 
establishing evangelical work. The official Church 
has a grip on the people, it is true, but it is the 
grip of a dead hand. Its church edifices are old 
and tumbling into decay, since most, if not all, of 
them date back to the time of the Spanish occupa- 
tion, now more than a hundred years ago. Only 
once or twice did we notice any sort of repairing 
going on and in no place did we see a new church 
building, or one that showed any signs of compara- 


1 The Least of These, in Colombia, Maude Newell Williams. 


82 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


tive modernity. ‘The subservience of the people 
was often shown in the evident fear in which they 
held the priest, standing in his presence with bared 
heads and in positions of humility, and in the care 
with which they followed the mass in the church, 
even when going about their business in the street 
or the public square. As I looked out on the prin- 
cipal square in Mogotes, the morning of our de- 
parture, I noted that, at a certain signal given by 
the bell in the church tower, all who were walking 
stopped immediately and the men removed their 
hats. A minute later, at another signal, business 
was resumed as though nothing had transpired. 
The signal had meant that, at that moment, the 
host was being elevated before the altar and the 
act of devotion showed the results of the teaching 
of the Church that this wafer, because of the bless- 
ing of the priest, had been actually converted into 
the real body and blood of Christ. ‘That is to say, 
they believed that He was actually present in the 
church, held in the hand of the officiating priest, 
and they made their obeisance accordingly. We 
noted this sign of servile devotion on other occa- 
sions, even in the country districts where the sound 
of the bell penetrated, and, while respecting the 
simple faith of these peasants, could but wish that 
the Church which has held supreme power over 
these lovable simple people for so many hundreds 
of years had reached their hearts rather than 
contented itself with what is merely an empty form 
of service. For we could not forget that probably 
ninety-five per cent of this same population can 


FROM BUCARAMANGA TO BELEN 83 


neither read nor write, and one hesitates even to 
conjecture at the percentage of illegitimacy. The 
mysticism and mystery of the mass have not given 
practical results in the education of the people, and 
the priesthood has, unfortunately, been satisfied 
with a servile devotion that does not touch the 
springs of life. 

On January 29, after leaving Mogotes, we made 
a comparatively short ride, since we started late. 
One of the pack mules had cast a shoe and we were 
obliged to await the pleasure of the local black- 
smith. But all that day we traveled through fertile 
valleys which are carefully cultivated and where 
we saw many herds of fine cattle that reminded us 
of the fine herds in the central valleys of Chile. 
We noticed, too, the great production of coffee. 
This was being carried down the trail toward 
Bucaramanga, from whence it goes on to the river 
and the ports of the Caribbean. Fique, the hene- 
quen of Yucatan, grows abundantly and women 
and even small girls may be seen in the doors of 
their huts or walking along the roads, spinning its 
coarse fibers into a heavy thread which is used in 
the manufacture of sacks and a sort of primitive 
carpet. ‘They also spin the wool from their sheep, 
using a spindle much like that used by the Indian 
women of Bolivia and Peru who spin the wool of 
the llama or the alpaca as they trot along the streets 
or public roads, a burden on the head, a child slung 
in a sack on the back and the spindle dexterously 
spun by the ever-busy hands. 

One accustomed to travel in other countries of 


84 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Latin America also notes the comparative freedom 
of these Colombian highlands from the perils of 
highwaymen and gentry of their kind. No one, 
save an occasional muleteer, carries a revolver, 
while on the frontiers of Uruguay, Paraguay, and 
Brazil it is unusual to find a traveler or a resident 
of the region who does not go armed to the teeth, 
and one feels that life is cheap. 

Tuesday, January 30, was to be our last day in 
the saddle and we were mounted and ready to start 
at dawn. As we rode out from the inn I noted 
that the Southern Cross stood erect in the south, 
unerringly indicated by Alpha and Beta of the 
Centaur, the first our nearest sidereal neighbor; the 
Clouds of Magellan floated lightly above like wisps 
of carded wool, and the somber “ coal pits ” seemed 
darker than ever in contrast with the many stars 
that blazed about them. We had already noted 
the clearness of the atmosphere in these mountain 
heights and the consequent brillianey of the stars, 
but the Cross seemed especially near to us as we 
rode out toward the south and began the usual 
climb upward among the hills. Our goal for the 
day was the little city of Belen, the Spanish for 
Bethlehem, and it was with a feeling of security 
that we rode toward the star that gleamed ahead 
of us and remembered how other riders had been 
guided into another Bethlehem by a similar light. 
The total distance for the day was something over 
thirty-five miles, and we could have covered it by 
the middle of the afternoon had not our muleteer in- 
sisted that we ride with him as a protection against 


FROM BUCARAMANGA TO BELEN 85 


thieves, which, he insisted, he was likely to meet. 
As it was, we reached the highest part of the trail 
early in the afternoon and continued to ride across 
the desert table-land which lies some ten to twelve 
thousand feet above the sea. Storms of sleet and 
snow are frequent in these high altitudes, and dur- 
ing the day it rained behind us and before us and 
on each side of us, but it did not “ come nigh” us. 
We reached the Hotel Tundama about half past 
six o'clock in the afternoon. Fifteen minutes later 
Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Allan were climbing out of 
their auto and we had kept our rendezvous. Al|- 
together, on the two trips from the river to Belen, 
I had ridden on mule back something like two hun- 
dred miles and must confess that the prospect of 
continuing to Bogota in a good Dodge touring car 
was altogether alluring. 

During the eight days of travel, with the excep- 
tion of a few hours of the last day, we had ridden 
constantly through the great Department of San- 
tander, and yet had merely touched a corner of it. 
One and a half times larger than the State of New 
Jersey, it contains a population that, compared 
with that of the Departments along the coast and 
the Magdalena, is active and intelligent and offers 
an interesting field for the work of the Christian 
missionary. Except in the small villages, where 
the people have been continuously under the con- 
trol of the priest, there is a tendency to think in- 
dependently and men and women look one in the 
eye with a frankness and friendliness that is seldom 
found in Latin America. As we crossed the neigh- 


86 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


boring Department of Boyaca, the following day, 
a village priest summed up the local situation when 
he said: “There is much obedience in Boyaca. 
The people obey the parish priest, the priest obeys 
his bishop, and the bishop obeys the pope. Yes, 
there is much obedience in Boyaca.” I do not be- 
lieve that this would be said of the people of San- 
tander. Possibly this is because they have already 
had some knowledge of the gospel, through our 
missionaries. At any rate, we have a great oppor- 
tunity, as Presbyterians, in the Department of 
Santander, and it is the hope of the writer that 
this hurried description of a missionary journey 
through its highlands and among its likable people 
may result in creating a new interest in the work 
we have already begun and in carrying it on to 
greater successes. 


CHAPTER VIII 


A HIGHLAND PARISH ON THE ROYAL 
ROAD TO BOGOTA 


Bogor, 
February 2, 1923 


N January 26, we arrived in Bogota; on the 
thirtieth, Rev. A. M. Allan, of the Bogota 
Station, and I left the city for the trip of 145 miles 
to meet Dr. Browning at Belen. In this letter I 
will try to give some of our impressions of the 
country and people along the highroad between 
Bogota and Belen. 

We rode in an energetic Dodge over a surpris- 
ingly good macadamized and hard-surfaced road, 
constructed in 1906 by the order of President 
Rafael Reyes. ‘The road in general follows the 
course of the old Spanish Camino Real, or “ Royal 
Road,” connecting Bogota and Tunja. It is 
now called Carreteria del Norte (Highway of 
the North). It is ample in width, having a base of 
twenty-six feet and a wearing surface of sixteen 
feet. The highway is both a military road to the 
Venezuelan frontier and a means of connection 
between the outlying Departments of Santander 
and North Santander, lying along this frontier, 
whose inhabitants had become impatient because 
of the lack of much needed communication with the 
capital. At the present time the road extends 145 

87 


88 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


miles to Belen, with a branch road running thirteen 
miles to Sogamoso from Duitama, fifteen miles 
from Belen. Surveys have been made and men 
are at work on the extension of the road to Cucuta, 
near the Venezuelan border. 

The road traverses the highlands of the Depart- 
ments of Cundinamarca and Boyaca. At first we 
followed the valley of the Rio Bogota, which flows 
past Bogota and into the Magdalena, plunging 
over a precipice at 'Tequendama in a fall of 444 
feet; then we crossed the watershed where the 
streams flow into the Upia, which, in turn, empties 
into the Meta, and so into the Orinoco River. 
Later we came again to a height of land where the 
water seeks the Magdalena valleys via the Opon 
and Sogamoso Rivers. In 1536, Quesada came up 
the valley of the Opon and eventually reached 
Tunja; in the following months he covered prac- 
tically the same route as we planned to take to 
Sogamoso and back to Bogota. 

The scenery is much the same as in Southern 
California. ‘The mountains are of the same hue 
and contour, and stately rows of eucalyptus trees 
give quite a Californian touch to the landscape. 
It did not require a great vault of the imagination 
to fancy that we were driving along the Sierra 
Madre from Pasadena to San Bernardino. But 
there were sights along this road which one never 
sees in California. Here were great two-wheeled 
carts drawn by two pairs of oxen; trains of pack 
mules and burros, with their muleteers trudging 
along on foot; men and women, barefooted or shod 


ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 89 


in sandals, stooping under high-piled loads of fire- 
wood and baskets; occasional horsemen in som- 
breros and rwanas (short Spanish capes) with jing- 
ling bridle chains, leather chaps, and the curious, 
slipper-shaped bronze stirrups, Moorish in origin, 
which were brought into the country by the 
Spaniards long ago; men plowing in the fields 
with a yoke of oxen and a primitive plow much as 
they have done for the past three hundred years. 
In every town were massive churches that looked 
like resurrected California Missions. But in Cali- 
fornia the Missions have died, while the people 
have gone forward in a happy and abundant life; 
in Bogota the churches are alive and rich, while 
the people are dead to nearly all that makes life 
worth living. 

Along the road were adobe huts, cold and poor, 
and unlike the neat, clean, California bungalows. 
Nearly every house bore a name painted on the 
simple adobe or on the whitewashed walls. Some 
of these names were appropriate; some uncon- 
sciously humorous; nearly all pathetic. At a cross- 
roads the name of the house was Hl Dilema ('The 
Dilemma); along a-wet stretch of road, El 
Charquito (The Little Puddle); some of the 
poorest and most tumble-down houses bore the 
bravest titles; La Dorada (The Golden); Villa 
Hermosa (The Beautiful Villa); Las Delicias 
(The Delightful) ; Hl Triwnfo (The Triumph) ; 
and La Violeta (The Violet). Some of the houses 
bore the inscription, “ Viva Maria” (Hail Mary). 

The day laborers on the farms along the road 


90 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


receive thirty-five to forty cents a day and their 
food. ‘There are many large estates and planta- 
tions where a feudal relationship exists between 
landowner and tenant laborer. This whole system 
of large ownership with its attendant consequences 
is called latifundia. The tenants are allowed, 
roughly, three acres each, with three weeks out of 
every month in which to work their land. For this 
holding they pay the owner a rental varying from 
ten dollars to fifty dollars a year according to the 
value of the land. On eight days out of every 
month they must work for the owner, who pays 
them ten cents a day and gives them their food, 
thus securing labor on a much cheaper basis than 
it could otherwise be obtained. ‘The landowner 
lends to his tenants and they are not allowed to 
leave his land while they are in debt. 

Aside from these economic limitations the people 
of this district are fettered mentally and physi- 
cally, in appalling numbers, by the effect of drink. 
They make an alcoholic beverage from corn and 
sugar cane, called chicha, and we were told that 
practically the whole population is addicted to the 
use of this liquor. ‘The landowners must serve 
chicha with the food supplied to their tenants or 
the latter will not work; even the children are given 
chicha by their parents when they are hardly old 
enough to drink. A Catholic teacher of twenty- 
eight years’ experience, now resident in Bogota, 
told us that the children from Boyaca were mark- 
edly dull and difficult to teach, and that chicha was 
largely responsible for their backwardness. 


ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 91 


Many of the people in this region, especially in 
the Department of Boyaca, are Indians and mes- 
tizos, descendants of the Chibcha tribe that once 
inhabited this plateau. In China and elsewhere 
I have seen people who were ragged and dirty and 
in distressing need. But nowhere have I seen such 
abject poverty and pitiable degradation as among 
these Indian inhabitants of Boyaca, the land once 
won by the conqustadores for the Spanish sover- 
eign and the Catholic Church. In the faces of 
these men and women there was hardly a spark of 
that intelligence and divinity of soul which are the 
birthright of all human beings. Saddest of all 
were the faces and bearing of the children. They 
looked so cold, dirty, and forlorn, with none of the 
responsiveness and innocent joy which we always 
associate with children; their faces were stamped by 
ignorance and vacuity and even perversion. 

And yet that country is rich in natural resources 
and the gifts of nature which ought to make human 
existence comfortable and full of the durable satis- 
factions of life. We passed carts loaded with bi- 
tuminous coal, and later saw the mouths of the 
mines within 300 yards and even 100 yards of the 
road itself. We explored one of these shallow, 
horizontal shafts, and picked out the loose coal 
from its walls less than 100 feet from the entrance. 
Other carts were piled high with hides; all along 
the road we saw herds of cattle and sheep. The 
government statistics for the year 1908 state that 
in that year there were 862,550 head of beef cattle 
in Boyacd alone. The two best-known emerald 


92 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


mines in Colombia, the Muzo and the Cosquez, are 
located in Boyaca; these two mines alone have pro- 
duced 800,000 carats of emeralds of fifteen differ- 
ent grades in one year. A handbook on Colombia, 
published by the United States Department of 
Commerce in 1921, states that the region north of 
Bogota contains enough salt to supply Colombia 
for centuries. Unlike California there was abun- 
dant running water in nearly every valley; corn 
and barley and wheat were growing in the poorly 
plowed fields, but a moderate amount of irriga- 
tion would greatly increase the products of the soil, 
and there are opportunities for the raising of much 
larger herds of sheep and cattle than we saw along 
the road. A small portion of the intelligent energy 
invested in California and the middle-western states 
would produce even richer results in this tropical 
highland. 

What is the cause of all this poverty and degra- 
dation, and what is the remedy? A partial answer 
has already been indicated by the economic status 
and personal habits of the people; we found further 
answers to this question in our experiences in three 
of the towns or localities visited along the road: in 
Boyaca, Tunja, and Sogamoso. 

At Boyaca, eighty-one miles from Bogota, was 
fought one of the decisive battles in the struggle 
for the freedom and independence of the Spanish- 
American colonies. ‘This movement had followed, 
by two decades, the revolutions in the American 
colonies and in France. Curiously enough, Na- 
poleon played a large part in furthering this cause 


ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 93 


by his deposition of the reigning Spanish sovereign, 
and his weakening of the Spanish power. But, in 
1815, Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo; the 
Spanish armies thus released were sent to recon- 
quer American territory and, for a time, were suc- 
cessful in this attempt. Then, in 1819, Simon 
Bolivar, who had risen as the chief military leader 
in the revolting Spanish dependencies of the north- 
ern part of South America, with his foremost gen- 
eral and colleague, Paulo Santander, led an army 
over the Ilanos, or plains, of Venezuela and Co- 
lombia, and by a forced march, surprised the Span- 
ish forces at Boyaca. Here the Rio Boyacaé makes 
an abrupt bend around a steep headland, and it 
was in the narrow ravine beneath this bluff that 
Bolivar trapped the Spanish army. ‘The founda- 
tions of the old stone bridge across the stream, 
which was the center of the hottest fighting, are 
still intact, though the present road crosses the 
river a little higher up. ‘The great rock on which 
Bolivar stood after the battle and addressed his 
soldiers, was pointed out to us. ‘There are no 
houses at Boyaca, but the government has beauti- 
fied the place by a well-planned garden and by an 
imposing shaft of stone with a bronze relief of 
Bolivar and busts of the leading generals in the 
revolutionary cause in white marble at its base. 
The name of the British Legion, Legion Britdnica, 
which fought with Bolivar’s troops was given a 
prominent place at the base of the shaft. Colonel 
Fraser was enrolled in this legion, though he was 
not present in person at the battle of Boyaca. On 


94. MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the monument are inscribed a statement by Bolivar 
and one by Azuero which read: “ La Libertad del 
Nuevo Mundo es la Esperanza del Universo,” and 
“Hil mas Grande de los Hombres es el que Sabe 
Conquistar la Libertad para los Otros.’ “The 
liberty of the New World is the hope of the uni- 
verse,” and “ The greatest of men is he who knows 
how to win freedom for the rest.” Brave words; 
true words; words full of hope and expectancy, and 
inspired by a confident faith in freedom and its 
gifts!) More than a century has passed since they 
were uttered; how has their prophecy been fulfilled ? 

We moved on to Tunja, the capital of Boyaca, 
100 miles from Bogota, and looked for an answer 
there. 'Tunja was the only real “ El Dorado” in 
Colombia; it was there that Quesada found the first 
and only large amount of gold in the Chibchan 
empire. His first sight of that city in 1537 was 
quite in the “ El Dorado” vein. “ In the last rays 
of the fast-setting sun a wondrous spectacle broke 
on the Spaniards’ eyes. From nearly every house, 
swinging lightly in the breeze, hung plates of gold, 
beaten as thin as sheets of paper, that gave out 
sounds like an Aeolian harp. ‘The houses were well 
built, although of slight material, and the tall poles 
of the chiefs’ residences, all brightly varnished red, 
gave a fantastic look to the strange city that was 
so soon to be destroyed.” * Here Quesada and his 
army seized over two hundred thousand dollars’ 
worth of gold and silver and emeralds, and, al- 
though overwhelmingly outnumbered, they brought 


1 The Conquest of New Granada, R. G. B. Cunninghame Graham, 
p. 128. 





A TYPICAL COLOMBIAN HIGHWAY MULE PATH TAKEN BY 
DR. BROWNING TO BUCARAMANGA 


“In point of view of locomotion, the country is little in advance 
of the days when Sir Francis Drake appeared 
with his ships outside the walled city 
of Cartagena” (p. 42). 





ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 95 


the Indians and their chief into complete sub- 
jection. . 

Tunja is known to-day not only as a political 
center but also as the ecclesiastical capital of the 
Department. Although a town of only about 
12,000 people, the census of 1912 giving it 8,971 
inhabitants, there are eight large Catholic churches 
or cathedrals, five chapels, two convents for wo- 
men, a seminary for candidates for the priesthood, 
two monasteries for men, and a number of schools 
controlled by the clergy. The Bishop of Boyaca 
has his palace there. 

Because of its historical background and because 
we knew that it was the center of Catholic influence, 
we looked forward with anticipation to visiting the 
city. ‘There we should see and there we could 
judge the full fruits of the work and influence of 
the dominant Church. 

As we neared the city, the road, which had been 
quite smooth and well kept up, became unpleas- 
antly rough and full of holes. Our driver re- 
marked that the responsibility for that section of 
the road rested on the municipality of Tunja, and 
that the city was not interested in this thorough- 
fare. The valley broadened, and Mr. Allan 
pointed and said, “ There is Tunja.” I looked for 
a city which might have some signs of its former 
golden glory and of the present favor of the 
Church, but at first I could see nothing, not even 
the whitewashed walls of the houses which make 
these upland towns stand out so clearly in their 
mountain settings. Then as we came nearer I 


96 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


gradually made out the outlines of dull, drab, adobe 
walls and houses, which shaded into the brown hills 
and rendered the city practically invisible. ‘The 
appearance of the majority of the people on the 
streets as we entered the town was in keeping with 
the squalor of their homes. ‘They seemed even 
more poverty-stricken and more vacuous in expres- 
sion than the country people in the villages along 
the road. Only the priests — and every third per- 
son appeared to be a priest — seemed affluent and 
comfortably supplied with this world’s goods. 'The 
churches, which loomed large in the plazas and 
along the streets, overshadowed the huts on either 
side. They were well kept up, with the inner walls 
and ceilings decorated lavishly in gold and crimson. 

We entered one of the oldest churches, dedicated 
to Saint Dominick. Just within its threshold a 
stone slab marked an ancient grave. In the center 
of the slab was the outline of a crowned lion ram- 
pant — the lion of Castile and Aragon. On either 
side of the lion was cut the outline of a skull and 
crossbones. Around the edges of the stone ran 
the inscription in a peculiar, archaic, Latin-Spanish 
lettering: “This is the church and tomb of El 
Capitan Garcia Arias Maldonado and his sons and 
his heirs. He died in the year 1568.” We could 
not make out the date clearly, and asked the help 
of a Dominican priest who was standing near by. 
He dipped his gown in the receptacle for holy 
water and scrubbed off the stone, so that the letter- 
ing stood out clearly and unmistakably. The priest 
said that the church had been built first in 1551. 


ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 97 





The church was there fourteen years and the grave 
thirty years after the coming of Quesada and the 
founding of Bogoté; before Sir Francis Drake 
sacked Cartagena; before the defeat of the great 
Armada; and long before the Pilgrim Fathers 
reached our shores. As we looked at the lion of 
Spain and the skulls and crossbones and the an- 
cient inscription, we seemed to be carried back 
more than three centuries and to be living again in 
the days of buccaneers and conquistadores and the 
ancient glories of the Spanish Main. 

The Roman Catholic Church has been dominant 
in this land and in this town for 370 years. What 
service, in Christ’s name, has it performed for the 
people, and how has it discharged the trust and 
the responsibility of bringing to them the light and 
truth and abundant life and love of his gospel? 

In the first place, it does not attempt to evade 
its responsibility for the present condition of the 
inhabitants of the region, claiming them all as 
members of its faith. ‘The Dominican friar in 
Tunja and the parish priest at Duitama, where we 
stopped later, in answer to our question as to what 
percentage of the people were Catholic, responded 
with the same word, “ T'odos,’ that is, ““ All.” The 
government census of 1912 designates only eleven 
in the municipality of unja as being of a religious 
faith other than the Catholic. 'The figures for the 
other districts are not available, but would doubt- 
less bear out the assertions of the representatives 
of the Church, that practically all the inhabitants, 
in name at least, are Catholics. 


98 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


In the second place, the representatives of the 
Church refuse to face the truth, or to tell the truth, 
about the condition of the people in their parishes. 
The handbook published by the Department of 
Commerce of the United States in 1921, previously 
referred to, affirms that “the literate population 
does not exceed 500,000’; that is, only eight per 
cent of the population of Colombia can read. ‘The 
census of the Colombian Government for 1912 re- 
cords the number of adult men in the Department 
of Boyaca who can read as sixteen per cent of the 
population. Boyaca is next to the lowest in the 
list of Departments of Colombia from the stand- 
point of literacy. Officials whom we questioned in 
the Department placed the percentage of the total 
population of literates as between five and fifteen, 
but when we questioned the two priests in Boyaca, 
one stated that nearly every one could read and the 
other that ninety per cent could do so. The pro- 
portion of illegitimacy in this Department is esti- 
mated to be between fifty and sixty per cent, an 
estimate sustained by the statements of intelligent 
observers with whom we later conversed. The of- 
ficials in the mayor’s office of one town supported 
the latter figure; nevertheless one priest said that 
three per cent of the families in his district were 
not married, and that five per cent of the children 
were illegitimate. The other said that there was 
one per cent of illegitimacy in his parish. It hap- 
pened that at the same time that Mr. Allan and I 
were talking to the former priest, Mr. Williams, 
not knowing how we were engaged, was seeking 


ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 99 


the same information from the mayor’s office. The 
statements secured from these two sources on the 
same subject did not reflect credit upon the ve- 
racity of the priest. One priest frankly stated that 
none of his parishioners possessed Bibles or read 
them in their homes; the other said that of the 
20,000 in the district of Tunja, 10,000 had Bibles 
and read them. As far as we could learn the 
Roman Catholic Church is doing nothing effective 
in social service, or in raising its parishioners’ 
standards of living, or in attacking and lessening 
the evils of drink. ‘These two priests gave us their 
signatures after making these statements. Since 
then we have had similar experiences with other 
priests in or near Bogota. 

How can the representatives of this Church, who 
have omitted the cornerstone of truth from the 
arch of the Kingdom they are trying to build, ade- 
quately serve and save the people assigned to their 
care? 

One priest, as Dr. Browning has already written 
in his letter concerning the trip from Bucaramanga 
to Belen, said that there was much obedience in 
Boyaca; the people obeyed the priest, the priests 
obeyed the bishop, and the bishop obeyed the pope. 
As we thought of the obstacles in the way of 
economic freedom, in the path of intellectual free- 
dom, in the road to religious freedom, we wondered 
if this was the New World liberty that Bolivar had 
.said would be the hope of the universe. Against 
the words of Azuero, “The greatest among men 
is he who knows how to win freedom for the rest,” 


100 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


came to us the words of Another who said, “ If 
therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be 
free indeed.” Boyaca needs that freedom of body, 
mind, and soul that the living Christ alone can 
give; in this fight for liberty the narrow valley 
where Bolivar conquered the Spaniards was but 
the initial battlefield. 

From Tunja we went on to Belen, which we 
reached within fifteen minutes of the time when 
Dr. Browning and Mr. Williams and the latter’s 
son, Newell, had arrived there from their trip on 
mule back more than 100 miles overland from Bu- 
caramanga. In his letter concerning this trip Dr. 
Browning does not emphasize what a test of 
strength and endurance is involved in this expedi- 
tion. We were glad to see him and his companions 
arrive on schedule time, apparently not overfa- 
tigued. We stayed that night in a typical Spanish 
inn, with an inner courtyard filled with flowers, 
and with marvelous old doors of a bronze color, 
studded with iron decorations; then, the next day, 
drove to Sogamoso, and the following day, Febru- 
ary 1, went on to Bogota. 

Sogamoso, which in the time of the Spanish In- 
vasion was called Sugamuxi, was the seat of a great 
temple to the Chibchan gods, destroyed when 
Quesada’s soldiers captured the town. Sogamoso 
has apparently inherited iconoclastic tendencies and 
has the reputation of being the most liberal of the 
villages and towns along the whole road to Bogota. 
It has a population of about five thousand; in the 
election of 1922, in the district of which it is the 


ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 101 


center, there were 2,600 Liberal votes against 
eighty for the Conservatives. In this town, ten 
years ago, Mr. Williams, who was then the head of 
the school in Bogota, was invited to open a Protes- 
tant school and promised property and the interest 
and moral support of the best people of that 
vicinity. ‘There were no funds in the hands of the 
Mission which might be used for teachers’ salaries 
or for current expenses; an appeal was made for 
the needed funds from the United States, but with- 
out result, and the opportunity was lost. We met 
a general, who, after many difficulties, had organ- 
ized the movement for a Liberal school, which those 
interested in the Liberal movement in that district 
will support, and they will use the same school 
building, well located on the central plaza of the 
town, which was once offered to our Mission. 
When questioned as to the difference between 
the Roman Catholic schools, which are the only 
schools in Sogamoso, and the proposed Liberal 
school, the general stated that in his school, re- 
ligion, meaning Roman Catholicism, would be op- 
tional, and that a modern scientific course of study 
would be adopted instead of the antiquated cur- 
riculum of the Jesuits. This Liberal school in 
Sogamoso is one of a chain of similar schools which 
the Liberals are attempting to found throughout 
the country, heading up in a Liberal university in 
Bogota. When we asked the general if the school 
would recognize its responsibilities for the moral 
education of the students, he answered with some 
emphasis in the affirmative, quoting a prevalent 


102 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


phrase, “Our aim is to educate, not merely to 
instruct.” 

The Mission has approved the opening of an 
outstation at Sogamoso, which shall be related to 
the work of the Station at Bogota. ‘The town is 
apparently ready for such a step. The population 
of the Department of Cundinamarca, in which 
Bogota is situated, and of Boyaca, a portion of 
which is traversed by the road which we were on, 
is estimated to be 1,440,000; next to Antioquia, 
these Departments are the largest in population 
in Colombia. . Over a million people live along this 
highway or within access to it. Despite the great 
needs of the people, needs which are not now being 
met, in this whole parish there is not a single repre- 
sentative of the Protestant Church at work, and, 
aside from the sporadic efforts of one or two col- 
porteurs, evangelical Christianity has never been 
preached there. A missionary and a Colombian 
worker, a Ford or a Dodge car, an initial invest- 
ment of $2,500 in land at Sogamoso, $5,000 for 
property for a school and chapel there, and a slight 
annual sum for current expenses, would mean the 
beginning of a work which would echo and reécho 
along that whole highway to Bogota, bringing truth 
where error now reigns unchallenged, and light 
in the midst of unillumined darkness. 

As we drove back to Bogota, and as we passed 
the long line of clumsy, two-wheeled carts, each 
drawn by two pairs of oxen, Mr. Allen pointed out 
to us that the cattle were harnessed to a Roman 
yoke and not to the American type which we know 


ON THE ROYAL ROAD TO BOGOTA 103 


in the homeland. We had seen the same kind of 
yoke in Mexico, and it is in use throughout Latin 
American countries. This yoke is fastened to the 
horns of the cattle instead of upon their necks and 
shoulders; it is obviously more irksome and tiring 
than the more modern kind. Thus were the cattle 
harnessed in the days when Jesus walked through 
the fields of Galilee; His words, which reflect the 
imagery of those fields, came to us with fresh force 
and appeal. The yoke which the cattle carry in 
these Colombian highlands is not easy; the burdens 
which the people bear are not light; no one can 
witness these scenes and not feel the compulsion 
upon us and upon our Church to share with these 
people, who are indeed weary and heavy-laden, 
something of the light and love and peace of soul 
that are to be found in Christ. 


CHAPTER IX 


GUATAVITA, THE LAKE OF THE GOLDEN ONE 
THE REAL HOME OF “EL DORADO” 


Bogota, 
February 10, 1923 


HE legend of “El Dorado” is known the 
world over; the term has become a current 
phrase, a synonym for the fantastic and the chi- 
merical. Over four centuries ago the story first ap- 
peared, — a tale of a gorgeous, golden city, full of 
treasure, situated somewhere in the mountains 
of the realms newly won by Spain. It was the 
lure of this fabled city that, early in the sixteenth 
century, drew the three generals, Quesada, Feder- 
mann, and Belaleazar, from three different lands, 
the Colombian coast, Venezuela, and Ecuador, 
and caused them to meet in the highland wilderness 
near Bogota. Many another conquwistador and 
pioneer sought this city; Gonzalo Pizarro, Her- 
nando Cortés, and Sir Walter Raleigh spent much 
treasure and many lives in this quest. It was the 
desire to see the actual place where this legend 
originated that led us in this twentieth century to 
leave Bogota early one February morning for the 
Lake of Guatavita, where the real EK] Dorado was 
once to be seen. 
The facts which lie back of the legend are few 
and simple. A chief of the Chibcha Indians, the 


104 


THE REAL HOME OF “EL DORADO” 105 


cacique of Guatavita, every year led in the observ- 
ance of solemn ceremonies at the Lake of Guata- 
vita, which had come to be regarded as the sacred 
home of powerful gods who were patrons of their 
tribe. The chieftain, having covered his body with 
turpentine gum, sprinkled this with gold dust, and 
then appeared by the lakeside, in the presence of 
a great gathering of his clan. In the clear sunlit 
air, he shone like Hl Dorado (“the Gilded ” or “ the 
Golden One”). He mounted a raft which was 
towed into the center of the lake, offered up 
prayers and cast offerings of gold and emeralds into 
the depths, then dived into the clear water, where 
he gleamed like a great goldfish, while the Indians 
threw in jewels and ornaments as a tribute to the 
spirits that dwelt in the lake. 

When Europeans came to the New World, the 
story of this ceremony and of the golden man be- 
came transformed and distorted into a tale of a 
golden city, that was the wonder and the will-o’- 
the-wisp of many a treasure-seeking captain and 
conquistador. 

The Lake of Guatavita is situated in the moun- 
tains about fifty miles northeast of Bogota, and 
about 1500 feet above it. To reach it, on Febru- 
ary 9, we drove forty-five miles on the highway 
that leads to Belen; then turned off to go to the 
little town of Sesquile, a mile from the main road, 
and to San José, a mile farther on, where we took 
horses for the ride of five miles over broken trails 
to the lake. , 

We rode up a corduroy clay road, with walls of 


106 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


tapia pisada, “tamped-down earth,” that are 
visible everywhere in this section of the country 
and are even used in the building of houses; up a 
wide valley with cultivated fields; then over the 
ridge and through a narrower valley, with rough 
hillsides like those of the Scottish highlands, where 
we almost expected to see heather blooming on the 
slopes. After an hour’s riding, the trail turned 
sharply to the right; we rode down into and through 
a narrow defile, overgrown with vines and trees. 
Then some one called, “ Guatavita!”’ and we saw 
before us, through the tangled branches, the shining 
waters of this well-guarded lake, a circular body 
of water, hardly larger than a wide pool, cupped 
in the crater of an extinct volcano, and fed by 
springs that trickled down from the encircling hills 
or that bubbled up from the depths of the lake. 
On the western side of the crater, opposite us, was 
the valley of this inflowing stream, and down this 
valley, which was scarcely less steep in slope than 
the rim of hills on all sides of the lake, tradition 
says the chief of Guatavita and his Indians came 
to take part in the picturesque ceremony of El 
Dorado. 

As we faced the west, there were no visible signs 
of man’s handiwork along the shore or on the hill- 
sides which bounded the lake. But when we turned 
to study the path by which we had come, we saw 
we had entered by a great gash which had been 
cut in the rocky rim of the lake, in order that its 
waters might be drained and any treasure hidden 
there might be recovered. By the side of the road 


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‘opRiod [WH JO euIOY [Ret sy} ‘Ras ay} BADGE JooJ PUBSNOY} Us} puR pUPTUL So[rut Ayyy poipuny OMT, 


VLIAVLVOAD AMVT 








THE REAL HOME OF “EL DORADO” 107 


we had come down there were an enormous winch, 
coils of wire cable, and a huge dredging bucket, 
abandoned tools of the English company of treas- 
ure seekers. On one side we saw signs of a tunnel 
that had been driven through the hill below this 
cliff, and so out to the slope along which we had 
come. But in these two engineering endeavors of 
fortune hunters more gold has been sunk than has 
been taken out of the lake; the efforts have been 
abandoned; the level of the water is slowly creep- 
ing up to its one-time height within its encircling 
walls. 

We wished for a picture of the lake from the 
summit of the crater, and so Mr. Allan and I fol- 
lowed the deer paths halfway around the shore, 
until we came to the inlet on the western side. We 
climbed the bluff which lifts itself almost perpen- 
dicularly from the water, and after some effort, 
due to particularly tenacious thorns, vines, and 
underbrush, and to the fact that we were more than 
11,000 feet above sea level, we reached the top, 
and so won an exhilarating and inclusive view of 
the lake, the surrounding crater, and the mountain 
ranges that stretched away on every horizon. 
When we descended by the old Indian avenue of 
approach down the valley of the inflowing stream, 
we could not resist the temptation to imitate the 
cacique and dive, EK] Dorado-like, into the cooling 
waters at the mouth of the stream; then we circled 
the lake, which is from one third to one half a mile 
in diameter, and rejoined our companions. 

There was a seclusion, and a peace, and an air 


108 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


of sweetness and repose over all that will linger 
long in our hearts and memories. If this lake were 
in any other country but Colombia, it would be 
made the Mecca of tourists and hotel keepers; a 
boulevard for travelers would be built to it; a tea 
room and inn would stand upon its shore; adver- 
tisements would doubtless decorate and desecrate 
its quiet hills. But we were glad we could see it 
as it had existed for the past four hundred and per- 
haps four thousand years; with no sign of life or 
human habitation, the only paths along its shores 
the trails marked by the deer that come down in 
the cool and quiet of the evening to drink and to 
wade in its crystal waters. 

One of the Bogota missionaries, Mrs. A. M. 
Allan, has caught the spirit of the place in a bit of 
verse written after a visit to this secluded tarn: 


“Deep in the mountain fastnesses 
Gleameth its water fair; 
Each ripple silver-shod, 
Lifts up its face to God, 
And brooding peace doth fill the quiet air.” 


Such an atmosphere of peace and of sanctity 
hovers about the wide plain surrounding Stone- 
henge in England, where gathered the Druids 
and their predecessors in their strange, forgotten 
worship; it is apparent in the wooded hills and half- 
hidden temples of the great Daibutsu at Nara in 
Japan; it is present in the wooded enclosures that 
surround the Altar and Temple of Heaven in 
Peking. Side by side with the memory pictures 


THE REAL HOME OF “EL DORADO” 109 


of these ancient shrines, will always be the vision 
of the peaceful Lake of Guatavita, the scene of the 
glory of “the Golden One,” who, for a brief half 
century, became a world-absorbing reality, and has 
since faded to a byword and a tale for the children’s 
hour. The glory of the cacique and his chieftains 
has gone; but the quiet glory of the woods and of 
the water, the mountains and the sky, remains, 
and we are grateful for their memory. 

Before leaving for Bogota, we turned to the 
prayer calendar of our Church and in the quiet of 
the evening, on that still lake shore, which had 
been the scene of oblations to other gods, we prayed 
to the Father of all for the children and for the 
work of His Church at home and abroad; and espe- 
cially that, through the fidelity of missionaries on 
the field, and through the faith of the Church in the 
homeland, the true and righteous ordinances of the 
Lord, which are more to be desired than gold, even 
than much fine gold, might be written in the 
hearts and lives of all those who now live and work 


in the land of El Dorado. 


CHAPTER X 


BOGOTA, “THE ATHENS OF SOUTH 
AMERICA” 


En Route to Meprvuin, CoLtomBia 
February 13, 1923 


N the Saint Nicholas, which I read when a boy, 
there was a story entitled “ Chris and the Won- 
derful Lamp,” which tells of the magic power of 
this lamp when properly manipulated by its owner, 
in summoning genii who would perform extraordi- 
nary feats, including the building of palaces and 
cities at will. There was a picture which I still 
remember vividly, of one of these magic palaces 
which had been brought into being by one of the 
genii and set down by him in a vacant and unin- 
habited field. The first sight of Bogota recalls 
that picture. 

Surrounding this inland capital there is the same 
atmosphere of unreality which characterized that 
fanciful creation of juvenile fiction. Perhaps this 
atmosphere is due to the legends and the mystery 
that were associated with the hidden empire of the 
Chibchas who lived in that high plateau for so long 
a time without discovery. Perhaps it is due to the 
mythical and marvelous tales about EK] Dorado (the 
City of Gold), that existed somewhere in that in- 
accessible region. Perhaps the feeling is due to 

110 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 111 


the experiences of the long journey inland from 
the coast through primeval and practically unin- 
habited jungle, where it seemed impossible to con- 
ceive of the existence of a modern city of nearly 
150,000 inhabitants, situated 900 miles from the 
coast, and 9,000 feet above the sea. The first sight 
of Bogota comes then as an apparition, a glimpse 
of a genii-constructed collection of palaces, that at 
a slight twist of the magic lamp, might vanish into 
thin air leaving only the empty jungle and plain 
behind. 

The next impression that comes to one of Bo- 
gota is that of its detachment and isolation from the 
rest of the world, and of its consequent conserva- 
tism and devotion to customs that elsewhere have 
been outgrown or transformed. The barred win- 
dows of the houses are built higher from the side- 
walks and street than in other Colombian and 
Latin-American cities, and the iron grilles are fully 
five feet from the ground. These windows afford 
practically the only meeting place of the young 
people of the better class, and after four o'clock 
many such windows are occupied by one or more 
expectant sefioritas. Many of the women still wear 
only black when they appear upon the street or in 
public places, and it is a common sight to see them 
in black mantillas returning from mass. When 
women ride, the sidesaddle is nearly everywhere in 
evidence. As far as I could observe, Bogota and 
its inhabitants are more conservative than Peking 
and the Chinese in their attitude toward the social 
relationships of men and women. But despite this 


112 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


isolation and separation from the forward-moving 
currents of world thought and progress, the people 
walk the streets with a certain dignity and com- 
posure, confident in their important position as 
Bogotdnos, both in relation to Colombia and to the 
world. 

From an artistic standpoint, certainly, they have 
reason to be proud of their city, for it can claim one 
of the most picturesque and beautiful settings in 
the world. Built at the foot of the two imposing 
mountains of Guadalupe and Monserrat it stretches 
down over the fertile plateau, its red-tiled roofs 
and white-walled houses half hidden by groves of 
handsome eucalyptus, cedars, and pines. ‘The 
plazas are well laid out and are beautified by shrubs, 
gardens, and groves; they also contain many monu- 
ments of unique historic interest. Flowers of every 
hue grow profusely in this upland plateau: mam- 
moth roses, violets, lilies, and orchids without 
number and certainly without New York prices. 
In a little inclosure, guarded by cypress trees and 
hedges and by two Norfolk Island pines, that re- 
mind one of the natural surroundings of Wash- 
ington’s tomb at Mt. Vernon, are the simple and 
impressive monument and grave of Jiménez de 
Quesada. A well-turned white marble shaft about 
six feet in height surmounted by a marble urn, 
representing the receptacle in which his ashes were 
brought from Mariquita and from the cathedral 
in Bogota, mark the grave. On the monument are 
chiseled the simple inscriptions, “ Jiménez de Que- 
sada — Al Fundador de Santa Fe de Bogota” — 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 118 


and his own words, “ Hapecto resurrectionem mor- 
tuorum.’ In a little valley which borders the foot 
of the mountains, is the quinta, or estate, assigned 
to Bolivar when he came to the city in 1819, at the 
head of his troops, the conqueror of the Spanish 
power, which Quesada had set up nearly 300 years 
before. Bordering the central plaza of the city is 
the building of the National Capitol, with its fine 
Corinthian columns, and on the other side of the 
square, the great cathedral of Bogota that over- 
shadows the capital building and all other struc- 
tures, just as the influence and power of the Church 
overtops and places its mark upon all civil power 
and upon all the social life of the people. 

One morning before sunrise, Mr. Allan and I 
climbed Monserrat, which towers 1200 feet above 
the city, and from the place of vantage at its top, 
we saw the whole sabana of Bogota and the sur- 
rounding mountain ranges spread before us. The 
houses of the city at first were hidden by a thick 
mist, only the rows of the eucalpytus trees rising 
through the covering cloud. Mr. Allan, whose 
home is in Scotland, remarked that the scene looked 
like a field in Argyleshire, in the Scottish High- 
lands, that had been covered by a four-foot fall of 
snow, with the eucalyptus trees appearing like 
Scottish hedgerows above the white blanket. We 
looked toward the west to glimpse if possible 
Mount Ruiz and Mount Tolima, that rise 18,600 
and 18,400 feet above the sea. They are 125 miles 
away, but as the sun rose higher and the light be- 
came stronger, we saw clearly for a few fleeting 


114 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


minutes, these two great snow-capped peaks, with 
the mighty range of the Eastern Cordillera of the 
Andes stretching between them. Then the distant 
haze hid them from our sight. Below us, the mist 
dissolved and the residences and governmental 
buildings and cathedrals of Bogota stood out in 
clear outline. As we gazed, we thought the name 
given to this plateau by Quesada when he first 
emerged upon it, was amply justified, Hl Valle de 
los Alcazares, “'The Valley of the Palaces.” 

Words written upon another mountain top, of 
almost similar name, the European Montserrat, 
picture equally well the scene and atmosphere of 
this South American vista: 


“Peace waits among the hills; 
I have drunk peace 
Here, where the blue air fills 
The great cup of the hills, 
And fills with peace. 


“ Beneath the earth and sky, 
I have seen the earth 
Like a dark cloud go by, 
And fade out of the sky; 
There, was no more earth. 


“ Light fills the hills with God, 
Wind with His breath, 
And here, in His abode, 
Light, wind, and air praise God, 
And this poor breath.” 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 115 


This myth-surrounded, detached, and beautiful 
city of Bogota is the capital of Colombia. As Bar- 
ranquilla is the Shanghai of Colombia, so Bogota 
is its Peking. It is the political capital, for there 
the president, the members of the national congress, 
and highest officials have their residence and seat of 
office. It is the ecclesiastical capital, which state- 
ment, by virtue of the Concordat of 1887 between 
Colombia and the Holy See, is but a repetition 
of the preceding one, for Church and State, re- 
ligion and politics, are almost synonymous terms in 
Colombia. It is the educational capital; there are 
the highest governmental colleges and universities, 
and thither flock groups of students from prac- 
tically every Department. Finally, it is the largest 
city and the center of the largest population in the 
country. 

The population of Bogota is estimated at 140,- 
000; on the plateau where it is situated is gathered 
the largest grouping of Colombians in the country, 
the population of the four Departments closely 
related to Bogota being nearly two million. In 
this city and this section of the country, it can be 
said, as truly as of the city and valley of Mexico, 
that here beats the heart of the ancient empire of 
its Indian inhabitants; and here beats the heart of 
Colombia to-day. 

In this capital city of Bogota, the work of our 
Presbyterian Mission was founded. The circum- 
stances of that founding were unique. Colonel 
James Fraser was a member of the British Legion 
which fought with the Colombian soldiers under 


116 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Bolivar, against the Spanish armies, and helped 
Colombia to win its independence and freedom. 
Colonel Fraser was a Protestant, and after that 
independence was won, he saw the need of the 
contribution which the Protestant movement would 
make in the building of a true republic, so 
he wrote to Scotland to suggest that a Scotch- 
Presbyterian missionary society there enter this 
work. It was not possible for the organization to 
accept this invitation, and Colonel Fraser then 
wrote to New York and invited the Presbyterian 
Board to send missionaries to Colombia. Our 
‘Board accepted the invitation and on June 20, 
1856, Rev. H. B. Pratt arrived in Bogota; in 1858, 
he visited Santander; then opened a school for 
boys in Bogota, with an enrollment of fifteen 
students, Colonel Fraser and his daughters sup- 
porting him strongly in this work. In the same 
year Rev. Samuel M. Sharpe reached Bogota, and 
the following year, Mr. Pratt returned to the 
United States to report to the Board and the 
home Church. On October 30, 1860, Mr. Sharpe 
died of fever incurred in Honda, where he had 
gone to meet Mr. and Mrs. McLaren. The old 
records read, “ Hra un hombre santo,’ “ He was a 
saintly man.” In 1861 a congregation was organ- 
ized with six members, all these being foreigners, 
for until 1885 no Colombians had entered the 
Church. On March 19, 1862, Rev. T. F. Wallace 
reached Bogota. In 1875 he went to Mexico, where 
his son, Rev. William Wallace, is now working. 
In 1863, the McLarens retired from the field; in 


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“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 117 


1866, Paul H. Pitken arrived; in 1868, Miss Kate 
McFarren came, and the next year opened a girls’ 
school. In 1868 property for a church was pur- 
chased for $8,000; to-day this property is valued 
conservatively at over $50,000. In 1869 the new 
Church was dedicated. In 1874, Rev. and Mrs. 
Willis Weaver arrived in Bogota; in 1877, Mr. 
Pratt returned. In 1880, Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell 
and Miss Margaret Ramsey, who later became 
Mrs. Candor, came to Bogota. In 1882, Rev. 
Thomas H. Candor arrived; in 1885, for health 
reasons he was forced to leave the country with his 
wife; three years later they returned to Colombia 
and opened a Station at Barranquilla. Mr. and 
Mrs. Candor are still members of the Mission, but 
this year will be placed upon the list of honorably 
retired missionaries, who have served forty years 
on the field. In 1883, Miss Mary B. Franks 
reached Bogota, but was forced to leave after three 
years. In December, 1886, Rev. and Mrs. J. D. 
Touzeau and Miss EK. E. Macintosh arrived; for 
a part of 1888, they were the only missionaries in 
Colombia. That year with the return of the Can- 
dors, Barranquilla Station was opened, and the fol- 
lowing year work at Medellin was begun. Mr. 
Touzeau is still living, and has been most helpful 
to the work in Colombia, and especially to Medel- 
lin. 

This summary of the early history of Bogota 
Station is given to show some of the difficulties and 
discouragements and frequent change of personnel 
which the missionaries there, who were the only 


118 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Protestant workers in Colombia, had to face in the 
pioneer stages of this movement of our Church. 

In Bogota to-day there are stationed six mis- 
sionaries, Rev. and Mrs. Alexander M. Allan, Rev. 
and Mrs. W. S. Lee, Miss Retta McMillin, and 
Miss Agnes Russel. ‘The work includes that of a 
church, a boys’ school, a girls’ school, a press and 
bookstore, and itineration among the towns in the 
region from Girardot to San Lorenzo in the Mag- 
dalena River Valley. 

The church building has an exceptionally central 
location in Fourteenth Street between Seventh and 
Eighth Avenues, in the heart of the city. The 
church originally was a part of an old Spanish 
building in which were carried on activities of the 
Inquisition. The building is dignified and com- 
modious, and Dr. Browning and I felt that the 
church and station were fortunate in their owner- 
ship. The church communicants number eighty 
with one hundred adherents, but this is not an exact 
indication of its strength and influence. 

All along the road to Belen and down to Bucara- 
manga, and in the towns along the railroad on the 
upper Magdalena, we found people who had visited 
the Protestant Church in Bogota or had heard of 
it, and of the truth and teachings for which it stood. 
It is a landmark, both in the city and in the sur- 
rounding country, and stands as a signal light to 
those who are looking for the dawn of a brighter 
and a purer day throughout Colombia. 

We were impressed by the comparative small- 
ness of the number of children in the congregation 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 119 


of the Sunday school and church. This is partly 
due to the fact that we visited the church first dur- 
ing the vacation period of the schools; later more 
children appeared. Many of the parents, especially 
the mothers, would not allow the children to attend 
Protestant services, but the church which looks 
forward to a healthy growth should include a large 
percentage of children, and perhaps special effort 
should be made to bring them under its influences. 
Our church as yet has not strongly influenced the 
students of Bogota, at least as far as numbering 
them as church members, and there is a tremen- 
dous need of reaching out toward these men and 
women who will be the coming leaders of the coun- 
try. Ten years ago, Mr. Allan led some most in- 
teresting discussions and held meetings which were 
largely attended by students and intellectuals, and 
it should be possible to attract similar audiences, 
if the right appeals and methods were adopted. 
Finally, there is need of a Colombian pastor to 
lead the church, as a foreigner cannot do. ‘There 
are some hopeful candidates for this position, and 
every effort is being made to train them and 
strengthen them for this work. Mr. Allan has been 
pastor of the church, and has carried a heavy load 
in this work and in the direction of press and 
periodical, and in itinerating in the towns of the 
Magdalena Valley. 

The boys’ school is situated in property on 
Twentieth Street, between Ninth and ‘Tenth 
Avenues, north of the church, but in a good loca- 
tion near one of its main squares, La Plaza de Las 


120 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Nieves. Last year there were enrolled ninety-eight 
students, with an average attendance of fifty-eight. 
There were four boarders. The initial enrollment 
was much larger this year with seven boarders, 
and prospects are bright for the future, under the 
able leadership of Mr. and Mrs. Lee. The school 
occupies an area about a quarter of an acre, with 
classrooms which are small and dark, and with no 
adequate room for athletics. ‘There have been no 
additions to this property since it was first bought, 
more than thirty years ago. ‘The school is cramped 
for space with its present enrollment, and there is 
no room for expansion. An additional lot should 
be acquired as near the school as possible, to pro- 
vide for an athletic field; this could be done for 
about $7,000; additional rooms could be built and 
a wing of the school building extended on the pres- 
ent ground, to provide more classrooms and dormi- 
tory accommodations for the purpose; $25,000 for 
this additional building and $5,000 for equipment 
are being asked by the Mission. The Station has 
also voted in favor of securing an additional resi- 
dence for the second teacher who is needed at once. 
A third missionary will be required as the school 
grows. A current appropriation of $500 has been 
made for the school until this last year, when $300 
was available: it will be difficult now to build up a 
self-supporting school, as was done in Barranquilla, 
and we do not think Mr. and Mrs. Lee should 
attempt this. The Station is asking for a $1,000 
annual appropriation for this school, and this should 
be made available as soon as possible. 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 121 


The girls’ school is situated on Tenth Street 
and Ninth Avenue. It is part of a school and 
former convent, which dates from 1595. The en- 
rollment last year was 105, with matriculations this 
year ahead of last. There are ten boarders. Miss 
McMillin is the directora of the school, and Miss 
Russel, who has just arrived, will be one of the 
teachers. As the school grows, three foreign teach- 
ers will be needed here; the same is true of the boys’ 
school. ‘The property is a three-story building, 
with a patio about the size of a tennis court. The 
building has stone floors and is not in good repair; 
the Mission is asking for funds to make much 
needed repairs, and to put in wooden floors, which, 
in that chilly climate, should be done. An attempt 
has been made to beautify the building and its 
balconies by plants and flowers, and Dr. Browning 
remarked at the improved appearance, both of this 
school and the boys’ institution, in comparison with 
the impression received during his last visit four 
years ago. Until the school shall outgrow these 
quarters, it will doubtless be best to continue to 
use this property, but eventually, this school should 
be moved to a more healthful and less limited site. 
The Station has voted to use this property, when 
the school has moved, as a hostel for students, who 
are in attendance upon the many schools and uni- 
versities in Bogota. Most of these institutions have 
no dormitory facilities; the students room in pri- 
vate dwellings, and live under conditions which are 
not healthy, either physically or morally. Abso- 
lutely nothing is being done toward improving these 


122 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


conditions, and we believe our Mission and Church 
should reach out to serve them; and that this prop- 
erty, with its courtyard which is large enough for 
meetings and moving pictures and entertainments, 
and its three-storied building, with an ample num- 
ber of rooms, can be used for such service if the 
right man and woman can be found to direct this 
work. 

The press which prints Hl Evangelista Cris- 
tiano rents two of the front rooms of the school 
building, receiving rent free, and printing the paper 
free, in exchange for their quarters. ‘The book- 
store was formerly located in the boys’ school, but 
will be transferred to the church building in the 
near future. Mr. Allan has been the editor of this 
periodical, which ranks high among Protestant 
publications in Latin America. 

Until last year there had been no appropriations, 
either for the paper or the book room; in that year 
$350 was available. In Mexico, where we have 
a population whom we are trying to serve of about 
2,500,000, an appropriation of $2,500 has been 
made for press and book room for several years; 
$3,500 was assigned to this work last year. The 
Bogoté Station is asking for $1,000 current sub- 
sidy for this work, and the needs in a field where 
6,000,000 people are to be served, certainly justify 
this request. 

Through the work of the paper, Mr. Allan has 
come into touch with the editors and publishers 
of the various dailies and periodicals in Bogota, and 
a number of smaller cities. These papers in Bogota 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 123 


include three strong Liberal papers and a number 
of Radical or independent publications. The 
columns of these papers have been open to articles 
by our constituency and we believe there is an in- 
creasingly important opportunity for the spread 
of our principles and message through such 
channels. 

Mr. and Mrs. Allan have done some dispensary 
work, and have met the medical needs of the con- 
gregation whenever they could do this. This com- 
ing year, a Colombian girl, with nurse’s training, 
is to work in and near Bogota as the pioneer in 
trained medical work of the Station. There is a 
real need for such service, especially among the 
women and the children. On the day before we 
left Bogota, Mr. Allan and I visited the public 
hospital of the city. It was built to accommodate 
200 patients; between 600 and 700 were there when 
we visited it. In the wards we saw one half of 
the patients lying on mattresses and blankets on 
the floor. The hospital is under the direction of the 
“ Sisters of the Presentation ”; there are fourteen 
of these sisters in charge, who have had the usual 
elementary school education of their order, but 
none have had any true medical training. The nuns 
are assisted by servants in the care of the patients. 
We asked if it were possible for the patients to have 
baths and what signal they used when they needed 
attention. The nun with whom we were talking 
said that bathing was impossible, of course, and 
that if the patients needed attention, they could 
call out. She said the four most common groups 


124 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


of diseases represented in the hospital were tropi- 
cal anemia, hookworm; syphilis and other venereal 
diseases; dysentery and typhoid, these last being 
especially virulent during the early days of the 
rainy season; and tuberculosis and pulmonary 
diseases. ‘The patients with these various illnesses 
were placed in groups in different sections of the 
wards; but they were all in the same room, and there 
was no segregation as we understand the term. In 
each room were gaudily decorated crucifixes and im- 
ages; the inmates were expected to go through the 
ritual of worship and confession; if they did not do 
this, various methods of compulsion were resorted 
to in certain instances extending even to actual 
persecution and acts of cruelty. 

Happily there is a new hospital under construc- 
tion, and other efforts are being made by leading 
residents to care more adequately for children, the 
aged, and the sick. 

‘The Protestant Church has no right to criticize, 
as we have done nothing to ameliorate these condi- 
tions. But we could not visit this hospital, packed 
with suffering humanity, without feeling what a 
cruel travesty it was upon both science and re- 
ligion. 

A happier experience was that of visiting the 
private clinic, clean and modern, of Dr. Howard 
Smith, an American physician, and in learning of 
the services of Dr. Munroe, a representative of the 
Rockefeller Foundation there. We called at his 
office, as we had done at the office of the local rep- 
resentative of the Foundation in Vera Cruz, but in 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 125 


both instances missed seeing the men whom we 
hoped to meet. 

One of the weaknesses of the work of the 
Protestant Church in Latin America has been the 
incompletion of its full fourfold program of ser- 
vice — evangelical, educational, literary, and medi- 
cal — and we are glad that steps toward progress 
are being taken in Bogota. 

Wide itinerating work has been done by Mr. 
Allan from Bogota as headquarters. The Station 
is asking for an ordained man to have the oversight 
of this work among the towns along the railroad 
in the upper Magdalena Valley; an ordained man 
for the same type of work along the highway to 
Sogamoso; an ordained man especially for student 
work in Bogota; and one for the general evangelis- 
tic work in the city. ‘Two men educators and one 
woman educator are requested; a woman for evan- 
gelistic social service, and a Station secretary and 
stenographer. Certainly six missionaries cannot 
adequately carry the work of a school for boys, a 
school for girls, the local church work and the itin- 
erating in widespread regions on the plateau and 
the upper Magdalena, the work of the press, book- 
store, and periodical, and the full representation 
of the Protestant movement, among both foreigners 
and Colombians, in this capital and largest city of 
Colombia. The Bogota requests for reénforce- 
ments are based on real needs and should be 
answered by the young people of our Church. 

Additional property needs are for chapels and 
day schools in different districts of the city, espe- 


126 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


cially in the poorer section of Las Cruces, and for 
land and property for boarding schools in the 
Chapinero district, north of the city, where modern 
residences are being erected, and where there will 
be adequate space for expansion. Already many 
of the larger Catholic schools have taken advan- 
tage of the beautiful sites in that section, which 
commands a fine view of the wide-reaching plain. 
Day schools will always be needed in the city, but 
if the Protestant Church is truly to serve Colombia, 
it should have a school for boys, and one for girls, 
in the capital city, the student center, which in 
standards of efficiency, scholarship, and general 
service will be in the front rank of educational 
institutions of the country. ‘Throughout the land 
we found expressions of revolt against the narrow, 
intolerant, unscientific type of education fostered 
by the Roman Catholic Church. ‘The Liberal 
schools which are coming into existence in many 
towns and cities, with the Liberal University in 
Bogota which opened this year, are united ex- 
pressions of the movement. The danger is that 
the students, when freed from the fetters which 
have been forged by the dominant Church, will go 
to the opposite extreme in abandoning all religion. 
If the Protestant Church — and to-day in Colom- 
bia that means the Presbyterian Church — could 
establish at this student center two absolutely first- 
grade institutions that are efficient in education 
and permeated with a warm, true Christian spirit, 
and dominated by Christian ideals that fit the 
twentieth century, it would perform an inexpress- 


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“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 127 


ibly valuable service, and would ward off dangers 
that the future may hold because of the growing 
atheism and agnosticism of the leading intellec- 
tuals of the country. Despite the slowness with 
which this program has been taken up, and de- 
spite the present scarcity of numbers in our Mis- 
sion, it is not too late for the Presbyterian Church 
to take the lead in this whole movement of mind 
and heart away from error and toward truth. The 
statement quoted in an earlier letter, made by a 
noted scholar with reference to China, is equally 
applicable to Colombia to-day: “‘ What this coun- 
try needs most is the spirit of Christ, expressed 
through the methods of modern science.” Chris- 
tian schools, efficiently conducted and adequately 
supported, can meet this need. 

We had reached Bogota on Friday, January 26. 
On the thirtieth we had gone to meet Dr. Brown- 
ing at Belen and had returned to Bogota on Febru- 
ary 1. On February 12, Dr. Browning and I left 
Bogota to start on the trip northward to Medellin 
and the coast. The days and evenings in Bogota 
were filled with meetings and receptions for Colom- 
bians and foreigners; with examining our prop- 
erties and investigating sites for new locations; and 
with interviewing many interesting individuals, in- 
cluding the American Minister (former Senator 
S. H. Piles), Sefior Otero Fraser (a grandson of 
Colonel James Fraser), priests of the Catholic 
Church, and representatives of both the Liberal 
and Conservative Parties. 

Dr. Browning had hoped to lecture at the Na- 


128 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


tional University, but he had been troubled by a 
fever which visited him after the long trip to 
Bucaramanga and this plan had to be given up. 
He was advertised to speak in the church on Sun- 
day evening, the eleventh, and the auditorium was 
well filled at this final service in Bogota. 

On the twelfth we started down the mountains 
to Girardot, where we arrived that afternoon. 
The little Protestant school had just been opened 
there and twenty-two children were present when 
we visited it the next day. The morning of the 
twelfth, in the columns of the Girardot paper, 
the local priest came out with a denunciation of 
Protestants, of Liberals, and especially of all non- 
Catholic schools. 

A few extracts from the article by this priest 
will give a fairly clear idea of the type of mind and 
psychology of these leaders of the dominant Church 
in Girardot and in Bogota. 

“The misguided parents who send their children 
to non-Catholic schools ought to remember the 
words of the Holy Writ: ‘ Nourish crows and they 
will at last eat your entrails.’ [It would be some- 
what difficult to locate this passage in Scripture 
which we recognize. | 

“ Listen, parents! Here are some examples: (1) 
A priest once advised a mother to send her son 
where he would learn the Catechism. She derided 
the priest, but twenty years later, she was strangled 
by her own son. 

“Listen, parents! (2) A French schoolmaster 
once ill-treated a crucifix before his class and his 


“THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA” 129 





wife joined in the mockery. But the judgment of 
God was close at hand. A few months later, she 
gave birth to twins, of whom one died and the other 
was black, deaf, dumb, and blind. 

“Listen, parents! (3) A young man trained in a 
lay school, in Libano, paid an assassin $1,000 to 
shoot his own father. 

“Listen, parents! A child brought up on the 
Catechism will honor, love and obey you; without 
it, he will make you weep and bring your gray hairs 
quickly to the grave. 

“Mr. Allan has just sent to Girardot a school- 
teacher who was not successful in her work else- 
where; will the people of Girardot receive those 
who have been rejected in lesser towns? ” 

We questioned the leader of the Liberal Party, 
locally, who had been a general in the army, as to 
the main principles and platforms of the Liberal 
Party. He summarized them under three points; 
other Liberal leaders have supported this analysis 
in other centers. The principles were: (1) Genuine 
liberty and freedom of speech and of institutions, 
for all; (2) separation of Church and State; (3) 
development of primary education, especially 
throughout the rural districts. 

That night a meeting was held at which Dr. 
Browning and Mr. Allan spoke, and promises of 
support for the school were given after the meet- 
ing and the next day by various interested indi- 
viduals, It was both encouraging and pathetic 
to see the interest aroused by the little school, with 
its thatched hut for a schoolhouse, its mud floors, 


130 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


and inadequate equipment. If such interest is 
stimulated by a school of such standards, what 
could not be accomplished through an institution 
which might really typify American Christian ele- 
mentary education at its best? 

On the morning we left Bogota, I turned to the 
seventeenth chapter of ‘The Acts and read how, 
nearly nineteen centuries ago, a missionary stood in 
the historic Athens of Greece, and brought to its 
citizens, who were reaching after the true God, the 
message of His living and abiding presence, and of 
the inadequacy and absurdity of representing Him 
by images of gold or man’s device. As we walked 
through the streets of this Athens of South 
America, and past its great churches, with their 
images and incense and preposterous paintings, I 
thought that there was a call to-day for just such 
messengers as went forth many centuries ago, 
bringing the knowledge of the true God to those 
who, like the Athenians of old, were seeking after 
Him, “if haply they might feel after Him, and 
find Him.” 


CHAPTER XI 


AN AERIAL TRIP OVER THE TRAILS 
OF THE CONQUISTADORES 


MEDELLIN, 
February 14, 1923 


OME of the travel letters which have been 
sent to you have been written on the narrow- 
gauge trains that traverse most of these Latin 
American lands; some on steamers on the ocean or 
on the river; some in the various Mission Stations 
of Mexico and Colombia. ‘The largest portion of 
the letter which follows was written in a hydro-air- 
plane which was traveling at a speed of nearly a 
hundred miles an hour and at an elevation of three 
thousand feet above the Magdalena River Valley, 
between Girardot and Puerto Berrio. 

Colombia is a land of contrasts, and nowhere are 
there more conspicuous differences than in the va- 
rious modes of transportaton now in existence 
throughout the country. Colombia has less than 
1000 miles of railroad and less than 500 miles of 
real highways. Yet this country has one of the 
most efficient aérial mail-and-passenger services in 
the world. This line, to which reference has already 
been made in the letter concerning the trip up the 
Magdalena River, provides a semiweekly service 
between Barranquilla and Girardot, covering the 
distance of 600 miles in eight or nine hours, in- 

131 


132 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


stead of the eight or nine days consumed on the 
upriver trip by boat and train. Like most of the 
transportation systems in Colombia, this line is 
under foreign management or supervision and has 
been supplied with foreign capital and personnel. 
The service was organized by Germans soon after 
the close of the war; it operates under the 
name Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes 
Aereos, shortened for current use to ‘““SCADTA.” 
Most of the pilots and mechanics are Germans 
who have served in the Great War. All but 
one of the hydro-airplanes are of German make; 
they are monoplane and accommodate three pas- 
sengers in addition to the pilot and mechanic, with 
the maximum of eighty-five kilos (187 pounds, one 
kilo equaling 2.2 pounds) allowed for each pas- 
senger, including baggage. Between Girardot and 
Barranquilla the planes make four stops for gas- 
oline and mail, at Honda, Puerto Berrio, Barranca 
Bermeja, and Banco. ‘They fly at an average 
height of 800 to 1000 meters (2600 to 3200 feet), 
and at a speed of 90 to 100 miles an hour. 

In planning our schedule for the trip from Bo- 
gota to Medellin we included transportation for 
one of us by this route from Girardot to Puerto 
Berrio, a distance of 210 miles. Dr. Browning left 
Girardot by express boat early in the morning of 
the thirteenth, and I arranged to go by airplane 
that afternoon, reaching Puerto Berrio in a little 
over two hours instead of the two days which other- 
wise would have been consumed. By taking this 
route, I should gain a much needed half day in 


TRAILS OF THE CONQUISTADORES 133 


Girardot and a full day in Medellin, and we had 
mapped out our work accordingly. 

It happened that at the beginning of the down- 
river trip just a week before, one of the planes, in 
its initial course along the surface of the river, had 
collided with some rocks in the river channel, and 
had been overturned, the pilot and the mechanic 
being thrown into the river and the passengers being 
shut in the compartment, which was submerged. 
There were three adult passengers and a three- 
months-old baby, which was being taken by its 
mother on this novel route to the coast. The me- 
chanic did not know how to swim and was drowned, 
but the pilot and the passengers, including the baby, 
were rescued, none of them being seriously injured. 
This mishap had made the officials of the company 
very strict about enforcing the regulations con- 
cerning the weight allowed each passenger, as there 
was a possibility that the wrecked machine had been 
overloaded. My own weight, without baggage, 
totalled 77.5 kilos (170 pounds), so I was entitled 
to 7.5 kilos (seventeen pounds) of baggage. I had 
expected to start on an itinerary from Medellin 
to some outstations reached on mule back over the 
mountain roads, and it was necessary to include in 
my baggage sufficient outfit for this trip. My 
duffel bag was several kilos overweight and it was 
necessary to extract all but the most essential 
articles in order to comply with the regulations, 
which were enforced by the officials of the company 
with true German thoroughness. Finally, the 
weighing-in process was complete, and I went 


1384 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


down to the bank of the river with two Colombians 
who were to be fellow passengers. 

The Magdalena River at Girardot narrows to a 
secant one hundred yards, and the current runs 
swiftly between walls of sandstone which slope up 
on either side. ‘The river describes an abrupt 
curve at the foot of Girardot and then passes 
through a narrow valley walled in by mountains 
on both sides. The hydro-airplane glided down the 
fast-moving stream until it had sufficient speed to 
take off into the air and rise above the surrounding 
mountains. 

The following notes on the trip were written in 
the cabin of the seaplane as we flew to Puerto 
Berrio: 

“We start down stream at Girardot at 3.45; we 
pass two stern-wheel boats on the right, around the 
bend and under the bridge. The mechanic beckons 
to us to come to the front of the cabin; he closes the 
front window, and we rise from the water and start 
to climb. 

“I feel some concern until we have risen above 
the valley and have added a good distance of air 
between us and the land. 

“My fellow passengers hand me some cotton, 
and, following their example, I put it in my ears. 
We turn away from the river course and fly across 
country. The plane rocks a little as we go over a 
narrow valley with treeless mountains on either 
side. We keep climbing to get above these moun- 
tain tops. 

“The cabin where we ride has seats for four pas- 


TRAILS OF THE CONQUISTADORES 135 


sengers. Itis enclosed by heavy glass windows and 
is about four by seven feet. 

“The mechanic had told me before we started 
that he had gone through the war as a mechanic 
in aviation, having flown in Belgium, France, and 
Italy, and against American troops. 

“On the way to the hydro-airplane, along the 
banks of the Magdalena at Girardot, we had passed 
a long dugout canoe of the style Colombians have 
used since before the Spanish Invasion; then one of 
the archaic-looking paddle-wheel steamers of the 
Upper River; then the modern gasoline-propelled 
glider which makes the trip from Beltran to Girar- 
dot. Beyond this was the hydro-airplane. So four 
types of locomotion and three centuries of trans- 
portation were represented in that one short sec- 
tion of river bank. 

“ At 4.12 P.M. we are up 900 meters (2900 feet). 

“In passing over the mountains, where ‘air 
pockets’ are encountered, the machine takes curi- 
ous hops and sudden drops that are not especially 
comfortable. The sensations are somewhat the 
same as during the first hours on a rough sea. 

“At 4.18 the river is on our right and we see 
in the far distance a boat creeping slowly up the 
winding ribbon of the stream, followed by a curling 
white wake at the stern wheel. 

‘ T snapped some pictures of the river and moun- 
tains, changing seats with one of the Colombians 
to do so. My fellow passengers had told me before 
we started that they had made the trip together 
upstream from Barranquilla to Girardot, a dis- 


136 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





tance of 600 miles by the air route, and that they 
had left Barranquilla at 6.30 a.m. and had arrived 
at Girardot at 2.30 p.m. They are now going back 
to Barranquilla. They are Sefior Gregorio Obre- 
gon and Dr. Suri Salcedo; the latter is espe- 
cially interested in the project of the opening of 
the mouth of the Magdalena River. 

“ At 4.39, the pilot cuts off his engine and we be- 
gin to circle and drop. We describe some beautiful 
parabolas, glimpse the flat-looking houses of 
Honda, and slide down to the water, just missing 
an intervening sandbar. The boat circles and 
draws up with a bump on the bank at 4.40. We 
leave mail for Honda and take on mail from that 
town; the mechanic does some tinkering with the 
engine, and at 4.52 we start again. 

“We glide down the river, rock on the waves of 
a riffle, then lift and go straight down the river 
valley, just clearing the tops of plantain and palm 
trees. ‘The river is broader here and the moun- 
tains are farther away from the stream, so one 
does not feel as if there is so much probability of 
colliding with them as farther upstream. We fly 
along the face of a cliff on the right, with the 
broad valley of the Magdalena widening and flat- 
tening on the left, and picturesque crags and 
cathedral rocks guarding the distant rim of the 
plain. 

“ At 5.02 we are well up and on our way. The 
old Spanish road from Honda to Bogota runs off 
from the river and over the mountains, and there 
is a thrill in passing over this ancient trail of the 





THE BOGOTA CHURCH, PURCHASED IN 1868 


The first Presbyterian church in South America 
was organized in Bogota in 1861. 





TRAILS OF THE CONQUISTADORES 137 


conquistadores by this twentieth-century aérial 
route. 

“We pass over the river, which makes seemingly 
impossible and unnavigable curves, and I can see 
the shining line of the railroad from La Dorada to 
Beltran cutting straight across the plain. At 5.10 
we are over La Dorada, situated just below a horse- 
shoe bend. A boat going downstream is visible far 
below us. The boat and the town fade from view 
as a dream vanishes when one opens his eyes from 
sleep. We are over the flat valley, which is cov- 
ered with jungle, and looks as primitive and wild 
from above as it does from the river itself. From 
the air I can see the mountains on either side, which 
are invisible from the decks of the river boats. 
The boats in the river look tiny and seem to move 
so slowly, and the river makes many unnecessary 
and time-consuming bends. It is better to travel 
straight and high like this machine. 

“I think that this kind of perspective and this 
direct conquering of space are a little like the divine 
processes. Such advances in science can help us 
to understand how God looks at us slow-moving 
beings, and how we must appear in his eyes, al- 
ways taking the crooked river channels instead of 
flying straight, unable to see the mountains of 
faith and eternal truth that are always there, even 
though at times the lower level of our lives blocks 
them from our view. 

“ At 5.21 we pass the other hydro-airplane com- 
ing from Barranquilla, the mechanic pointing it 
out to us in the air. At 5.55 the sun is just above 


188 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the mountains in the west; the river, with its islands 
and branching streams, is on our left; below is the 
tropical jungle with palms and white-barked cot- 
tonwood trees, unbroken by clearing or road. 

“At 6.00 the sun is almost hidden under a great 
cloud in the west; the river far below us shines like 
molten silver; and above it, cutting it off from our 
view, is the broad wing of the plane, stamped A-9. 

“ At 6.10 the pilot partly cuts off his motor and 
we start to descend to Puerto Berrio. We drop 
down, circle above the town, and take the water 
at 6.15.” 

We had traveled from Girardot to Puerto 
Berrio in two hours and a half. Fifteen minutes 
had been consumed in the stop at Honda, so the 
two hundred and ten miles of our route had been 
covered in two hours and fifteen minutes actual 
flying time, a little Jess than a hundred miles an 
hour. It had taken us four days and four nights 
to travel by boat between these two points going 
upstream, while two days and'a night are consumed 
in the down-river trip. It took the conquistadores 
of the sixteenth century an equal number of months 
to traverse the unbroken wilderness; how would 
they have regarded this twentieth-century type of 
travel, which cuts months to a few hours? 

As we walked up the path from the river to our. 
hotel at Puerto Berrio one of my two Colombian 
companions broke the silence which he had main- 
tained during most of the trip. Speaking in Eng- 
lish he said, “ My, that kind of travel is quite a 
jump from riding on mule back!” With which 
statement I heartily agreed. 


CHAPTER XII 


THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN 
ANTIOCH 


Puerto Berrio, Rio MagpALeNna, 
February 28, 1923 


NTIOQUIA, one of the most important and 

influential of the fourteen Departments of the 
Republic of Colombia, lies to the west of the 
Magdalena River, about halfway between Bar- 
ranquilla and Bogota. It is the largest of the 
Departments, with an area of 24,401 square miles, 
and the census of 1918 gave it a population of 
817,530. The city of Medellin is the capital of 
the Department, with 80,000 inhabitants. The De- 
partment contains thirty-five towns of 10,000 
people or more, and the commercial territory 
reached by Medellin includes over 2,000,000, or 
almost one third of all Colombia. 

This Department, as a whole, represents the most 
interesting social problem of the whole country, 
since the meeting of many races is distinctly 
peculiar to this section. Among the first Spanish 
families to settle in Antioquia were many who had 
formerly been Jews, but who had embraced Catholi- 
cism in Spain, and whose ancestors had lived in 
Antioch, Syria. Due to this fact, both the De- 
partment and the city of Antioquia bear the name 

139 


140 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


of that city in which the disciples were first called 
Christians, and the inhabitants, in many respects, 
bear out the characteristics of their Jewish an- 
cestry. They are more practical, more shrewd in 
business, more self-assertive, and among them the 
spirit of acquisitiveness is more fully developed 
than in any other part of Colombia. Consequently, 
this is the Department which has had the greatest 
industrial development and is the richest, most 
populous and most progressive section of Colombia. 

The wave of colored population that rolls up from 
the coastal region thins out and breaks in this re- 
gion, and the number of Negroes is comparatively 
much less than in Barranquilla, Cartagena, and 
along the rivers near the coast. The people are 
generally fair in complexion, some even have blue 
eyes and fair hair, and in their slight build and agile 
movements are dissimilar to the inhabitants of 
other sections of the republic. 

Medellin, the capital, is situated about 5000 feet 
above the sea, in a beautiful valley at the juncture 
of four mountain ranges, and has the climate of 
perpetual spring. 'To reach it, from the Magda- 
lena River, one journeys about seventy-five miles 
in a railroad train to the foot of the high ridge 
which forms the backbone of the mountain range, 
transfers to a high-powered automobile which car- 
ries one over the summit and down to the end of 
the line on the other side, about seven miles, and 
then continues into the city itself. 

Medellin is one of the most progressive cities of 
Colombia, and one of the most advanced in educa- 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 141! 


tion. It is said that 82 per cent of the factory 
and industrial workers can read and write. Out 
of the total population, in 1918, 12,350 pupils 
were in school. ‘This would be 15.6 per cent of 
the total number of inhabitants, which is an un- 
usual record for Latin America. The second larg- 
est university in Colombia, La Universidad de 
Antioquia, is located in Medellin. This was 
founded over one hundred years ago. The latest 
statistics available give approximately 400 students 
in all departments, while the annexed secondary, or 
high school, has 460 pupils. ‘The National School 
of Mines is also located in Medellin. ‘This institu- 
tion has about 175 students and offers full courses 
in mining and in civil engineering. One of the na- 
tional normal schools, located here, reports a total 
of 335 students, 97 of them men. A model pri- 
mary school building has been completed and is to 
serve as the model of all such buildings in the 
Department. 

The national mint, located here, has an electro- 
lytic plant and is capable of coining $6,000,000 
worth of gold per annum. The Department pro- 
duces an average of $5,000,000 annually. There 
are ten banks in the city, two of which are English 
and one American. 

Politically, Medellin may be considered one of 
the most important centers of Colombia, a kind 
of laboratory in which the Liberal laws are being 
tried out for the benefit of the whole country. 

As an example: the Department had a governor 
a few years ago who favored tolerance in religious 


142 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





matters, although he himself was a Catholic. At 
that time, the Medellin Station had a colporteur in 
its employ, but he had been forbidden by the arch- 
bishop and the clergy to sell Bibles in the Depart- 
ment. The new governor, at the request of the 
missionary in charge of the Station, addressed an 
open letter to the mayors of the various towns and 
cities of the Department, ordering them to allow 
the colporteur to carry on his work unharmed, and, 
as he handed it to the colporteur, the governor said, 
“May you be able to do a great work and take 
away the fanaticism of the people.” Armed with 
this document, the colporteur returned to his work, 
was repeatedly arrested by order of the local priests 
and as often released by the mayor as soon as 
shown the order from the governor. On one oc- 
casion, however, the priest declared that the Con- 
cordat takes precedence over the Constitution, the 
mayor agreed with him, and left the colporteur in 
jail, and the future looked dark. But influential 
citizens then took up the case and demanded his 
release, on condition that he leave the town as soon 
as possible. This he agreed to do, provided these 
friendly citizens would sign a statement of the facts 
in the case. This was done and the letter was pre- 
sented to the governor on the return of the col- 
porteur to Medellin. The final result was the gov- 
ernor at once demanded the resignation of the 
mayor and sent another to take his place, even 
without waiting for a reply to his communication. 
It is in Medellin, also, that the conflict has been 
waged on the question of civil marriage. This 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 143 


form of the ceremony has been sanctioned by the 
laws, but it is fiercely combated by the Church, as 
it is combated throughout Latin America, and few 
there be who will dare the anger of the hierarchy 
and risk the ban of excommunication. Several 
couples, belonging to the Presbyterian congrega- 
tion in Medellin, have, after real legal battles, suc- 
ceeded in securing the civil ceremony from the local 
judge, but each has been fought by the archbishop, 
and the judge who has been compelled to sanction 
the marriage, although merely carrying out the 
plain dictates of the law, has lost his position and 
suffered excommunication. 

The Roman Church finally selected one such 
couple and decided to make it a test case, evidently 
counting on sufficient influence to carry its point. 
The marriage was declared null and void, and the 
baby of illegitimate birth. In return, a petition 
was prepared and addressed to the national con- 
gress, signed by a large number of influential citi- 
zens, among them an ex-president of the republic, 
asking that the law be defined and a decision given 
as to the marriages already performed by the 
judges. This petition had the desired effect, since 
congress, in view of the political and social stand- 
ing of the signers, was obliged to give the only 
legal interpretation possible, and declared the com- 
plete legality of the marriages according to the law. 

The Department of Antioquia seems to be in- 
creasingly important, politically, as well as educa- 
tionally and commercially, since three out of the 
last four presidents have been elected from Medel- 


144 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





lin. The present President, Dr. Pedro Nel Ospina, 
who is from this Department, is a graduate of the 
University of California and has the reputation of 
being one of the most brilliant statesmen that the 
country has produced, and we found Antioquefios 
in all parts of the country, occupying responsible 
positions in the various departments of the govern- 
ment. Representing neither the highlands nor the 
coast, but a region halfway between, they seem to 
be acceptable to all political parties and to give 
acceptable services to their country. 

In Medellin there are three hospitals, one of 
which is an annex of the school of medicine and 
has beds for four hundred patients. It occupies an 
antiquated building and its arrangements are en- 
tirely antihygienic and out-of-date. There is also 
an asylum for the indigent classes who suffer from 
incurable skin diseases, such as tropical ulcers which 
are very common in Colombia and are caused by 
the bacillus of Vincent. A splendid new hospital 
is under construction, by a local society, and this, 
when finished, should be of great help to the city. 
One of the local physicians, however, expressed the 
belief that it would soon fall into the hands of the 
Church, as the others have done, the nursing would 
be done by the nuns, who have little or no prepara- 
tion for their work, and the real ends of its con- 
struction be defeated. 

The principal diseases in this part of Colombia 
are hookworm, dysentery, and venereal affections. 
A physician assured us that fully sixty per cent of 
the population suffers from some form of syphilis, 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 145 


and in a letter he has the following to say as to the 
need of help in the care of the sick of Medellin: “ I 
believe that a small hospital under the immediate 
control of the members of the Presbyterian Mis- 
sion, would be not only a paying investment, but 
that it would increase very largely the great pres- 
tige which the Presbyterian religion is daily ac- 
quiring among us. In it not only your own mem- 
bers would receive attention, but also those of other 
advanced elements of our society who would gladly 
give it help, especially if you could place at its head 
an American professional whose scientific prep- 
aration would be a guarantee in this city where 
American medical science is much respected.” 
The death rate, per thousand, in Medellin, for 
the year 1919, was 23.0, and for the whole Depart- 
ment, 19.3. In 1920, there were 30,504 births in 
this Department, of which 4,427 were illegitimate. 
During the same year, there were 13,625 deaths. 
The Roman Catholic Church is very strong in 
Antioquia and this Department has been consid- 
ered one of the most fanatical of all the Depart- 
ments of Colombia. There are eighteen churches 
in the city, among them a cathedral which boasts of 
being the largest building in Colombia; a large 
seminary is being erected, and a magnificent palace, 
surrounded by extensive grounds, is to be built for 
the archbishop. There are also several convents 
and monasteries, asylums and hospitals, in which 
the Church rules supreme, and a number of schools 
are carried on by the teaching orders, among them 
five which belong to the Christian Brothers. High 


146 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


on a hill that overlooks the city stands a colossal 
statue of the Christ, with outstretched arms as 
though in benediction and proffering protection to 
the people below. A lengthy inscription in Latin 
states that this monument was erected by the clergy 
and people of Antioquia and dedicated to “ Jesus 
Christ, the Leader and Teacher of the World.” 
At night the statue is brilliantly lighted up by 
electricity and the figure of the Master stands out 
in bold relief against the dark background of the 
hills beyond. The conception is beautiful, and the 
carved figure is a work of art; yet one cannot help 
wondering how much of the divine gentleness and 
pity, how much of the boundless love that throbbed 
in the great heart of the Master, how much of the 
purity of life and thought which He preached, 
really actuate the lives of those who gaze on His 
image. 

The Presbyterian Mission first opened work in 
Antioquia in 1889. ‘Toward the end of that year, 
Rev. and Mrs. J. G. Touzeau, who had been la- 
boring in Bogota, were transferred from that city 
and began their work in Medellin. In 1907, be- 
cause of failing health, they retired from the field 
and no workers could be spared from other Sta- 
tions to take their place until 1911, when Mr. and 
Mrs. Warren and Rev. Thomas EK. Barber were 
assigned to this work. A small group of believers 
had held together and maintained services during 
these four years, and the new missionaries at once 
set about the development of this nucleus, the re- 
establishing of a school in the city, and the exten- 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 147 


sion of the work into other towns and cities of the 
Department. 

In speaking of the labors of Mr. and Mrs. 
Touzeau in Medellin and its vicinity, another has 
said: 

“ For more than eighteen years the Touzeaus had 
labored in the city of Medellin. They were the 
first messengers of the gospel to enter the great 
region lying west of the Magdalena River and 
stretching out to the waters of the Pacific. Later 
missionaries have heard Mrs. 'Touzeau referred to 
as ‘the blessed one,’ ‘an angel,’ ‘a benediction 
to any home,’ by persons who had no relation to 
them other than those of friendship. Devout 
Catholics greatly admired her and her husband. 
In the fanatical towns Mr. Touzeau was frequently 
iltreated at the hands of the priests and, on dif- 
ferent occasions, was refused lodging; but every- 
where he went, he was a most faithful seed sower, 
leaving his tracts among the people, selling them 
the Word of God, and talking to them personally 
about its sacred teachings.” 

It was largely due to the foundations thus laid 
during those eighteen years of devoted service that 
later missionaries have been able to extend the work 
so rapidly throughout the Department. The fact 
that a small group had continued its meetings dur- 
ing the time that elapsed between the going of the 
first missionaries and the coming of reénforcements, 
shows how deeply the members of the church had 
been affected by the teaching received, and, when 
the new missionaries appeared, their leader, one of 


148 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the first three to accept the gospel in Medellin, 
exclaimed, “ We have waited long, but God has 
now answered our prayers!” 

Since 1912, Mr. and Mrs. Barber have been in 
charge of the work of this Station and have had the 
assistance of a number of other missionaries who 
have come for short periods of service. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cruikshank took part in the general work of 
the Station, and, particularly, in the school work, 
from 1915 to 1919, but resigned at that time to 
enter the Moravian Mission in Central America. 
Miss Florence M. Sayer was also a member of this 
Station from 1917 to 1922; because of illness, she 
has been compelled to close her connection with the 
Mission. Rev. and Mrs. W. E. Vanderbilt, who 
were members of the Mexico Mission for many 
years, also gave a part of a year to this Station, 
in 1920-1921, but were then transferred to Bar- 
ranquilla to take charge of the boys’ school in that 
city; Rev. and Mrs. C. A. Douglass came from 
Barranquilla in 1920 and, although at present on 
furlough, are still members; and Miss Margaret B. 
Doolittle, a practical nurse, has been giving her 
services to this Station since 1920. The latest ar- 
rival, as a member of the Station, is Miss Lydia E. 
Parker who is in charge of the school for girls. 

In spite of the lack of continuity of service on 
the part of those who have been members of this 
Station, the work has gone steadily forward and 
has been extended to other important centers of 
the Department, and the way has been prepared, 
by the circulation of literature, for the beginning 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 149 


of a work in the Department of Caldas, which 
borders on that of Antioquia, and whose inhabi- 
tants are in many respects similar in character to 
those of Antioquia. 

In the Department of Antioquia, there are now 
four organized churches. The strongest is that of 
Medellin, with some forty members. In the city 
of Antioquia, there is a membership of twelve; in 
Dabeiba, fifty; and in Kl Eden, about forty. It is 
hoped that during the year congregations may also 
be organized in Frontino and Peque, where there 
are considerable groups of Protestants who are 
urging that the Mission hasten their organization 
into churches. ‘The membership in the churches 
that have already been organized will be consider- 
ably increased as soon as the missionary in charge 
can visit the field and hold services for the purpose 
of admitting new members. 

The only ordained worker who is now in service 
in Colombia — the other being at least temporarily 
retired from the work because of an accident — 
has been serving the church in the city of Antio- 
quia, but has now accepted a call from the congre- 
gation in Medellin and will soon take up his work 
in this city. Another national worker, a licentiate, 
is in charge of the work in Dabeiba. 

In addition to these four organized churches, 
there are fifteen preaching places in which services 
are conducted with considerable regularity, and 
occasional services have been held in many others. 

Three schools are carried on by the Station, as 
follows: one in Medellin, with twenty children; one 


150 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





in Antioquia, with twenty-five, and another in 
Dabeiba with twenty-five. Another is being opened 
in Las Cruces and some twenty children are ex- 
pected to enroll. The Mission has voted to estab- 
lish the theological seminary, for all Colombia, in 
this city. | 

The reasons for this last-named action are largely 
social and racial. Medellin is halfway between 
the coast and the high interior, the people from 
Antioquia are acceptable in all parts of the re- 
public, and it was believed that ministers prepared 
here could enter the work in any section and be 
well received by the people. The racial question 
also enters in. Practically all our membership 
along the coast are Negroes or mulattoes. In 
Bogota, Bucaramanga, and other high regions, 
there are but few who give evidence of African 
descent. In Medellin there are many, but the ma- 
jority are white, and there is no predisposition in 
favor of either race. The climate is also a deter- 
mining factor in favor of Medellin, since here it is 
eternal spring, while Bogota, 8,800 feet above the 
sea, 1s always cold, too cold for those used to the 
heat of the coast, and Barranquilla offers no cli- 
matic attractions to those who live in the uplands. 

It is needless to say that these activities have 
recently stirred the resident archbishop. In a pas- 
toral letter, published in the local papers just as 
we reached the city, this man solemnly warns his 
flock against the Protestants and pronounces ex- 
communication on all who in any way cultivate 
acquaintance with them. His letter, too long for 


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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 151 





full quotation here, is interesting as showing the 
obscurantism still dominant in the minds of the 
leaders of the Church and their utter disregard of 
individual conscience and the liberal spirit of the 
times. One of the leading lawyers of the city, a 
senator of the republic, a member of the Liberal 
Party, with whom we lunched, rather gleefully com- 
mented on this letter, remarking that it was only 
fair for the Protestants to get a share of the prel- 
ate’s wrath, since the Liberals had been receiving 
his undivided attention for some years and would 
be glad of a respite! 

In the pastoral letter referred to, after bestowing 
its full meed of praise on his own Church, he pays 
his compliments to the Protestants as follows: 

“ Since the early ages of the Church there have 
not been lacking men who have taken on them- 
selves the Satanic office of disseminating heresy 
among the faithful and have succeeded in seducing 
many of the unwary. This is the work of the 
Protestants in our own days, of whose propaganda 


you must be unusually wary.... Faith is the 
foundation of salvation, since ‘ without faith it is 
impossible to please God.’ . ... But faith alone is 


not sufficient; good works are necessary, as Christ 
taught and the Apostle James says: ‘ Man is justi- 
fied by works and not by faith alone, as a body 
without the soul is dead so also faith without work 
is dead.’ Therefore, the apostle teaches that for 
salvation works are necessary, since faith alone is 
not sufficient, and this divine teaching is opposed 
to one of the principal heresies of the Protestants 


152 MODERN. MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





who say that faith alone is sufficient. Luther, in 
horrible blasphemy, said, ‘He who believes firmly 
may sin as much as he wishes.’ ”’ 

The prelate concludes his lengthy epistle with 
these words: 

“Thus you see, beloved children in the Lord, 
that there can be no greater consolation than that 
of having a Master so good as is Jesus Christ our 
Lord; a mother like the most holy Virgin; and a 
guide like the Holy Mother Church which can 
make no mistakes. 

“ But, in order to conserve this grace and this 
immeasurable treasure of spiritual good, do not 
put yourselves in danger of losing your faith. 
Hear, what we have so often repeated, that it is ab- 
solutely forbidden to attend the preaching services 
of the Protestants, take part in their acts of wor- 
ship, read or distribute their Bibles, pamphlets, 
booklets, periodicals, or portions destined to hereti- 
cal propaganda, since, in addition to committing 
a mortal sin, one easily falls under the ban 
of excommunication reserved as a special arm of 
the Pope against those who favor any form of 
heresy. 

“Remember that it is prohibited, under pain of 
excommunication which is reserved to us, to put 
your children in the school of the Protestants.” 

This pastoral is signed by the Archbishop of 
Medellin, bears the date of February 2, and was 
published in Hl Colombiano of Medellin, under 
date of February 12-13, 1923. 

Acts of direct persecution of our missionaries 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 153 


and the destruction of the Bibles which they have 
tried to circulate among the people have not been 
lacking. Rev. C. A. Douglass gives the following 
interesting description of one such scene which 
seems to carry one back to the Middle Ages, to 
the autos-de-fé which were carried out under the 
auspices of the Holy Inquisition. He says: 

“ My object on a recent evangelistic trip was to 
visit a number of towns that had never been visited 
by a missionary. About midday on Wednesday 
came the most exciting event of the trip. A man 
known to us to be a traveling merchant came to 
us and wished to buy a number of our Bibles and 
portions to sell at the farmhouses in the mountains 
around about. This man took stock of all we had, 
then closed the bargain accepting the whole quan- 
tity at the price named. Soon a boy came running 
in, crying, ‘They are burning the Bibles!’ I 
snatched up my kodak and ran out to the Plaza 
which was near, and sure enough, there in front of 
the Church they had a pile of straw burning and 
they had all of the Bibles we had just sold to the 
trader and they were tearing them to pieces and 
dropping them on the fire. The priest was stand- 
ing there directing them, and two policemen were 
watching to see that not a leaf escaped the fire. 
When they saw the kodak they seemed pleased, 
and the priest especially, for he pulled his cassock 
straight and smoothed it out and posed for the 
picture. 

“ After I took the picture I tried to get some 
leaves of the Bible half-burned, . . . but the po- 


154 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


licemen watched until the last bit of paper was 
reduced to ashes. The crowd under the direction 
of the priest gave a number of ‘ Hurrahs’ for the 
Church, for the Virgin, for the Pope, for the nuns, 
and one for the priest. His action was very much 
disapproved by many of the Conservatives, or 
Church Party, as there is much sentiment in our 
favor in that town and many who openly say that 
they will gladly receive us and listen to our mes- 
sage when we return.” 

That a more liberal spirit is developing in this 
Department is evidenced by the attitude of the 
leading men toward the new currents of thought. 
Some five years ago, one of their physicians, just 
returned from the United States, was scheduled 
to give a course of three lectures in the University. 
He succeeded in giving but one and then found it 
impossible to continue. It developed that he had 
described, in his first address, a Sunday scene of 
Fifth Avenue, New York, where the people walk 
along together and drop into their various churches 
with no thought or act of personal enmity because 
of their different ecclesiastical affiliations. He 
added that it ought to be possible to do this in 
Colombia. For this reason, he found the Univer- 
sity closed to him for further lectures. But the 
mental attitude of the community has changed. 
About a year ago one of the woman teachers of the 
city spoke to an enthusiastic audience in the Univer- 
sity at Antioquia and people sat up and rubbed 
their eyes to make sure they saw right, for 
never before had a woman spoken from this plat- 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 155 


form, or, possibly, in any one of the state uni- 
versities. 

On our arrival in the city, we set plans in motion 
looking to the giving of a lecture in this University. 
We were speaking every night in the little Protes- 
tant chapel, and the whole town knew just who 
and what we were. However, an invitation was 
first extended to give an address in the Union Club, 
on the somewhat general subject of ‘“ University 
Life in the United States.” This invitation was 
accepted and an ex-president of the republic pre- 
sided and presented the speaker. About one hun- 
dred students and representative men of the city 
were present and the meeting was held without the 
slightest friction or misunderstanding. As a con- 
sequence of the results obtained in this introductory 
address, plans were then put into operation by the 
local Society for Public Improvement, a kind of 
University Extension Committee, to have the lec- 
turer speak a second time, but in the Assembly Hall 
of the University, on practically the same subject, 
illustrated with lantern slides. The city was billed 
with posters, attractive handbills were distributed, 
and the daily papers generously gave of their space 
in calling attention to the coming lecture. There 
was some doubt in the minds of the men who were 
pushing the matter as to the attitude the archbishop 
might assume, since it was known that he might 
issue orders closing the University to the lecture, 
or, at least, forbid faithful Catholics to attend. 

However, the evening came and went, and some 
five hundred people were present at the lecture, 


156 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


most of them students from the University with a 
liberal sprinkling of men and women from the 
leading families of the city. Ex-President C. E. 
Restrepo attended, with his family; a brother of 
the actual president was also present; and the most 
exclusive social circles of the city were well repre- 
sented. The lecturer spoke for over an hour and 
was repeatedly applauded. When a picture of the 
Yale Bowl was shown, Mr. Wheeler gave the 
Harvard and Yale long cheers, ending with three 
“Medellins.” This called forth tumultuous ap- 
plause, and almost broke up the meeting. ‘There 
was so much cheering and uproar that the police 
came in; the lights had to be turned on and order 
restored before the lecture could be continued. 
Apparently the police thought that a revolution 
had broken out. This was, no doubt, the first time 
that a representative of Protestant Christian work 
had had an opportunity of addressing such a group 
of the illuminati of Colombia, especially in the 
Convocation Hall of one of the state universities, 
and the result shows how possible it is to secure 
access to this influential class of citizens, especially 
where the proper background has been prepared. 
In this case, much was due to the many helpful 
contacts made by Mr. Barber, during past years, 
among the influential classes of the city and to the 
very evident esteem in which he and his fellow 
workers are held by all classes of the citizens. 
As an immediate result, some of the students 
called to discuss the subject presented and to in- 
quire as to further study in the United States, and 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 157 


it was felt that a current of sympathy had been 
started between the students of the two parts of 
the continent that may bear fruit in the future. 
A number of Colombian ex-students of American 
universities were in attendance and seemed de- 
lighted to have touch, once more, with the scenes 
familiar to them during their stay in “La gran 
republica del norte!” 

The deputation was in Medellin for about two 
weeks and we had time to go over the ground 
thoroughly and take up with the different members 
of the Station the various problems of the situation. 
We did not visit the outlying field, as we had 
planned, for reasons beyond our control, but saw 
a good deal of the immediate vicinity of the city 
and came into touch with the local congregation 
and many friends of the work who do not attend 
the services but have great interest in the progress 
of the church and little school. 

We had a meeting with all the members of the 
Station on one of the last days of our stay among 
them and went very carefully over the whole situ- 
ation and helped to outline a plan of work for the 
next five years. The principal points discussed 
were the following: 

1. The question of a site for the new church 
edifice. This has been a problem before the Station 
for several years. The sum of $12,000 has been 
made available for this purpose, $5,000 of this sum 
having been given by Mr. Touzeau; a little over 
$2,000 has come in from gifts on the field; so that 
this entire amount has been and is available for 


158 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


immediate service. But the missionaries had 
wanted to secure a site in the center of the city, 
which would have absorbed the whole amount 
available, leaving nothing for the construction 
of the building. The present congregation num- 
bers only forty communicant members although 
some eighty count this their Church home and 
the usual attendance is around seventy, and it 
seemed unwise to invest so much money in ground 
when the present chapel is still uncrowded. More- 
over, the sites desired were near the great Roman 
Catholic cathedral, where the Protestant work 
would have been completely overshadowed unless 
we had been able to put at least $30,000 into a 
building which, even then, would have been but a 
sorry contrast with its enormous neighbor, the 
largest building in Colombia. With these facts in 
mind, the Station voted unanimously in favor of 
a site near the missionary residence, at one side of 
the city but still in the midst of a considerable 
population and on the side toward which the pop- 
ulation is tending. It is located just in front of 
the National School of Mines, on a small plaza, 
and overlooks the cathedral which is a few blocks 
distant, since it is on higher ground just at the foot 
of the hill that rises above the entire city. It is 
hoped that a corner lot, measuring forty-five by 
fifty yards, may be secured, which will give space 
for the church and a residence for the pastor, and 
the cost ought not to exceed $8,000, leaving a con- 
siderable sum with which to begin building. 

The erection of this church will mean a great 
advance for the Station, since practically all the 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 159 


work in Medellin, including the school, all activi- 
ties of the congregation, and residence for the two 
unmarried women, is now crowded into the one 
small property, which measures only thirty by 
forty-two yards. ‘The school will attract more 
pupils when it is no longer in the same building 
with the church, and the congregation should take 
on new life when installed in a separate and prop- 
erly constructed building of its own. 

2. The enlargement of the present school prop- 
erty. There are some lots at the back and at the 
side of the building occupied by the school and 
church, which should be secured as soon as possible 
in order to make sure of room for the expansion 
of the school. It will always be necessary to keep 
a day school in the city, although the boarding de- 
partments be moved to a suburb, as will be sug- 
gested later on, and the present location is admi- 
rable for the purpose. The lots at the back can be 
secured for about $2,000 and the two at the side, 
with the present buildings, for about $7,000 each. 
This would mean a total of $16,000 for the purpose 
of rounding out this property and giving the Sta- 
tion sufficient ground, for school purposes, for years 
to come. 

3. In the same way, a lot located at the side of 
the present missionary residences should be secured 
in order to avoid the location on it of undesirable 
neighbors, as well as to secure ground on which to 
erect another residence when it may be needed. 
This lot is now unoccupied and can be obtained 
for about $2,500. 

4. In the plans for the future extension of the 


160 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





work of the Station, the deputation and the mem- 
bers of the Station took into account the need of 
securing land for the theological seminary, which 
is to be located in this city, by vote of the Mission, 
and for the two boarding schools which have also — 
been authorized. Careful study was made of sev- 
eral locations in and near the city, and final choice 
was made of a block of some five full squares in 
extent, located less than two miles from the present 
school property, on one of the new tramcar lines, 
and in a delightful situation which overlooks the 
entire city of Medellin. ‘This is in the suburb 
known as “ America,” and it is said that the land 
may be secured for, at the most, forty cents a 
square yard. Since there are 50,000 square yards 
in the entire piece which it is desired to secure, the 
cost would be $20,000, which is the amount already 
asked for the purchase of a site for the seminary. 
This would give us land enough for the seminary, 
a boarding school for boys, and, probably, a similar 
school for girls, with the athletic fields, and other 
equipment necessary to such institutions. 'This is 
one of the most beautiful sites that the deputation 
has seen, in any Station, and it would mean much 
to our work in all Colombia could it be secured 
for the purposes named. ‘The fifty thousand square 
yards amount to about ten acres and the property 
is sure to advance in value within a short time. 
5. A study was also made of the need of chapels 
in which to establish work in the outskirts of the 
city, and it was voted that the Station should look 
forward to establishing, as soon as may be possible, 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 161 


a chapel in each of the following suburbs: America, 
Guayaquil, Berlin, Buenos Aires, and Campo 
Valdes. This would mean a ring of chapels about 
the city, the entire work centering in the church 
which is to be constructed within the city limits. 
An average of $3,000 will be required for this work, 
or a total of $15,000. With the acquisition and 
staffing of these centers of evangelical work, the 
city could soon be evangelized and a strong work 
developed in each. 

6. In another part of this letter, reference is 
made to the need of medical work and the opinion 
of one of the physicians as to its practicability 
under the direction of the Presbyterian Mission. 
The Station voted to ask the Board for $1,500 
with which to establish a central dispensary, pref- 
erably in some property owned by the Board 
within the city, its work to be extended to the 
chapels already mentioned in paragraph 5. Miss 
Doolittle is doing considerable medical and nurs- 
ing work, both in the city and in the outlying 
districts, but a well-equipped central dispensary 
would be of great help and, as much as any other 
one thing, would tend to establish confidence in our 
work among the people of the city. The English- 
speaking community, in appreciation of Miss Doo- 
little’s work, recently presented her with a riding 
horse which she is using now for her visits to those 
in need. 

7. 'The above property investments presuppose 
the appointment of a larger staff of missionaries, 
and it was voted to ask for the following: two or- 


162 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


dained men with field experience for the seminary; 
one ordained man for itineration; one man for the 
boys’ boarding school which should be started soon; 
one woman educator; one physician; and one 
trained nurse. ‘This means an increase of twelve 
missionaries for this Station, counting that the or- 
dained men, the educator, and the physician are 
married. But as we have seen the splendid oppor- 
tunity of the field, the unusual beginnings already 
made with such insufficient equipment and staff, 
the confidence in which our missionaries are held 
by leading citizens of the Department, and the 
evident signs of the coming day when this active, 
virile people will break with the dominant Church 
and be left to drift into unbelief unless there is 
some other influence here to stay them, we can but 
believe that the number asked for is conservative 
and should be granted by the Board and Church 
as soon as possible. Antioquia, as already stated, 
is one of the most strategic centers of the republic 
and the Presbyterian Church has here a great field 
and a great opportunity which ought not to be lost. 
As with Paul, so here also “a great door and ef- 
fectual is opened ”’ and it is also true that “there 
are many adversaries.” 

As one climbs the hills that surround Medellin 
and continues the journey to the river, one feels — 
at least the writer has so felt on both occasions that 
he has visited the Department of Antioquia — that 
within those beautiful valleys, especially in the 
attractive city of Medellin, lives a people that is 
worthy of the best we can give it, and that the 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ANTIOCH 163 


greatest triumphs of our work in this republic will 
sooner or later be found to center within this re- 
gion. ‘That triumph can be appreciably hastened 
if our Church will give our present workers just 
and generous support. 

We left Medellin at six o’clock in the morning, on 
February 27, on our return to the Magdalena 
River, en route for Cartagena and the region of 
the Sinu where we are to visit the only Station of 
our Mission in Colombia which we have not yet 
seen. During the two weeks spent in Medellin we 
had attended the special and regular meetings of 
the local church, which meant a service almost every 
night, and had been able to give two lectures to the 
university circles of the city. We had also studied 
the whole situation as regards the future expansion 
of the work and had planned a trip to the outlying 
churches of Antioquia, Frontino, and Dabeiba. 
Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Barber even started on this 
trip, which meant almost continuous horseback rid- 
ing for eight days, but had to turn back during the 
first day because of illness on the part of the latter 
who suffers from recurrent attacks of malarial 
fever. The life of an evangelistic missionary in 
Colombia is not all joy riding; nor is it free from 
the dangers incident to life in the tropics. Mr. 
Barber has had more than his share of sickness, 
especially of malaria and amoebic dysentery,. and 
more than once has been compelled to suspend pro- 
jected journeys through his field because of sudden 
attacks from one or the other of these persistent 
enemies. 


164 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


At our last meeting with the local congregation 
there were addresses of farewell, with affectionate 
greetings to be carried to the members of the Board 
and to the membership of the Church in the United 
States, thanks for past help, and prayers for a 
continuance of this help in the future; and we were 
presented with a beautiful silk flag of Colombia 
which we are to carry to the Board as a gift from 
the congregation. On presenting this flag, the 
speaker stated that the usual interpretation of its 
three colors is that the yellow represents the gold 
which the early Spaniards sought, the blue is the 
sea over which their caravels sailed to the Spanish 
Main, and the red is the blood shed in the conquest 
of liberty from Spain. The evangelical interpre- 
tation, he said, is that the yellow represents the 
inestimable treasures of the Kingdom of heaven; 
the blue, the Kingdom itself toward which we are 
traveling; and the red, the blood of the Redeemer 
shed in order that we may enter into full posses- 
sion of the heavenly riches. It was with this in- 
terpretation ringing in our ears that we left this 
little group and started on our further travels 
among the attractive people of Colombia, sure that 
here in Antioquia a strong constituency is to be 
built up and the Kingdom of Christ appreciably 
set forward in the coming years. 


CHAPTER XIII 
CERETE AND THE VALLEY OF THE SINU 


CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA, 
March 15, 1923 


HE Department of Bolivar, in which Cerete 
and the Sinu Valley are situated, is the most 
primitive, the least developed, and the least often 
visited of all the Departments of Colombia. We 
spent eight days in the interior of this Department 
after our visit to Medellin, and this letter will be 
devoted to our experiences there and en route. 

On February 27 we left Medellin for Cerete. 
The distance to the north in a direct line is not over 
200 miles; if there were a railroad of American 
standards built to the coast, the trip ought not to 
take more than six or eight hours. Under present 
conditions of transportation, to reach our destina- 
tion it was necessary to spend one day in the train 
to Puerto Berrio; three days and nights on the 
Magdalena River to Calamar; a night on the train 
to Cartagena; a night and a day on a launch to 
Covenas, and a day in an automobile, making a 
total of six days and five nights of continuous 
travel. 

Medellin is only 120 miles from Puerto Berrio 
on the Magdalena River, but the trip of 113 miles 
by train, with an automobile ride of seven miles 

165 


166 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


and the consequent delays, requires twelve or thir- 
teen hours. We left Medellin at six oclock; 
reached Santiago at nine-thirty; took an automo- 
bile over La Quiebra Mountain which rises 1,800 
feet above the valley and makes a barrier which 
the ingenuity and energy of the Antioquefios have 
not yet tunneled or surmounted. All the freight 
and cargo which come to Medellin from the river 
must be carried over this mountain along the seven- 
mile stretch of winding road between Santiago and 
Limon. The road is jammed with two-wheeled 
carts piled high with lumber, iron piping, flour, and 
the products of the region, and pulled by two mules 
hitched tandem, the muleteers, each carrying a whip 
and a machete, trudging alongside barefooted, 
wearing tattered Panama hats and with handker- 
chiefs over the lower parts of their faces as a pro- 
tection against the dust. ‘They look exactly like 
brigands of three centuries ago preparing for a 
raid upon some interior town. It costs three dol- 
lars to move a ton of freight on this seven-mile piece 
of road in this primitive fashion, and plans are be- 
ing made for the construction of a tunnel through 
the mountain which will do away with this slow and 
expensive means of transportation. 

The seven-mile ride to Limon, an appropriately 
named village hung on the rough hillside, consumed 
over an hour, as the road was constantly blocked 
by the mule carts; we had lunch, almuerzo, at 
Limon, and the train left at one o’clock for Puerto 
Berrio, where we arrived at seven. 

The express boat was not due until the following 


‘sanoy JYSIo UL ‘[reuL puke siosuossed YIM ‘satu paipuNy XS 19400 soul 


VYNAIVGDVN AHL AO SHNVA AHL NO ANWIduYIV-OUGAH V 





a. 
i, 





CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU 167 


evening so we spent the twenty-eighth at Puerto 
Berrio. The President of Colombia, Dr. Pedro 
Nel Ospina, had flown to Puerto Berrio by hydro- 
airplane on the day of our arrival and had stayed 
at the hotel that night and the next day. Puerto 
Berrio is an important point for traffic both by rail 
and by river, and it is interesting to watch the 
various types of transports get under way at day- 
break. A river boat usually ties up there for the 
night; the narrow-gauge train starts for Medellin 
in front of the hotel; the hydro-airplane on its way 
down the river is moored by the bank. Promptly 
at daybreak the boat sounds its hoarse whistle and 
starts puffing up the river; the train answers with 
a shrill blast and moves off into the wooded in- 
terior; and, with a roar and a rippling wave, the 
hydro-airplane sails down the river. 

About five o'clock on the afternoon of the 
twenty-eighth the express boat appeared, a smaller 
steamer than the one we had taken up the river, 
but a sturdy, businesslike-looking craft with two 
flags fluttering at her forward masthead, one red, 
labeled Correo, mail, the other yellow, with Ha- 
preso on it; she was flanked by the inevitable two 
barges; with them she swung around neatly and 
nosed her way up to the bank, close to two other 
boats already moored there. 

We left Puerto Berrio at daylight next morning 
and made a good run down the river to Calamar, 
in spite of the low water which had caused several 
other boats considerable delay. We did have an 
accident, striking a sunken log or stump only two 


168 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





hours after leaving Puerto Berrio. A hole was 
knocked in the bottom of the vessel and we had to 
anchor for two hours while the water was pumped 
out, the cargo transferred, and the damage re- 
paired. We met with no further accident, and 
reached Calamar in the evening of March 3, three 
days and three nights after embarking. It had 
taken us six days and nights to cover this same 
distance on the upriver trip. 

The narrow-gauge train of the Colombian Rail- 
way and Navigation Company is scheduled to meet 
the boat at Calamar, which is sixty miles from 
Cartagena. We arrived about seven o’clock and 
expected to reach Cartagena in three or four hours. 
However, in good Colombian fashion, although the 
road, I believe, is British owned, the train waited 
in Calamar three hours after the boat arrived, and 
then moved off in a leisurely manner toward the 
coast. A hot box contributed its quota to our 
diminishing speed and we reached Cartagena at 
three o’clock Sunday morning, having spent five 
hours in covering the sixty miles of the trip. 

Cartagena was the first South American city 
we had visited a little over two months before, and 
it was good to see it again. After an acquaintance 
with the other cities of Colombia we appreciated all 
the more its distinctive character and atmosphere. 

That morning at ten o’clock we conducted a 
service for the English-speaking residents of Car- 
tagena. ‘The American consul, Leroy R. Sawyer, 
kindly allowed us to hold the service in his own 
rooms adjoining the Consulate. A fine group was 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU_ 169 





present, including Americans, British, Swiss, and 
Hollanders. Outside, a beautiful American flag 
rippled and billowed in the sea breeze; royal palms 
rustled in the patio beyond; and the sunshine 
streamed across the room, lighting up the white 
linen clothes of the congregation, and shining on 
the pages of the New Testament and hymnal be- 
fore us. We sang the old familiar hymns, “ Sa- 
viour, like a Shepherd lead us,” and “ He leadeth 
me,’ and it was good to be there with our own 
people, in worship and love of the living Christ. 
Afterwards many of those present came up and 
spoke of their happiness at being at a Church 
service again; some of them had not had an oppor- 
tunity to go to church for over two years. 

We had felt the need of serving the Colombian 
residents of Cartagena when we first visited it; now 
there came to us the sense of the need to serve our 
own fellow citizens and the English-speaking resi- 
dents of this important port. ‘There is no Protes- 
tant missionary or minister in the city, and not a 
dollar’s worth of property available at present for 
the service of either Colombians or foreigners. 

That evening we went to the meeting of the little 
Colombian group in the suburban district of Ca- 
brero, which is using rented property for its church 
and school. We met afterwards A. M. May, who 
had recently come from the Island of San Andrés, 
off the coast of Honduras, which is Colombian ter- 
ritory. Most of its residents speak English rather 
than Spanish and there is a strong Protestant 
Church there, numbering over one thousand mem- 


170 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


bers out of a total of five thousand inhabitants; 
few of the residents, except the officials, call them- 
selves Catholics. Mr. May had just heard of the 
church in Cabrero and said that he was willing to 
bring his family to Cartagena under these cir- 
cumstances; that he had not wished to bring them 
before to a country where “ religion was in such a 
filthy condition! ” 

On the trip to Cerete and the Sinu Valley we 
had ample opportunity to see the condition of this 
religion, which the adjective chosen by the speaker 
appropriately described. 

The Department of Bolivar, of which Cartagena 
is the capital, has an area of 41,000 square miles 
and lies along the coast of the Caribbean, west of 
Barranquilla and the Magdalena River. It is 
nearly all flat country or alluvial plain and with 
the exception of the plain of Los Llanos de 
Carozal was at one time covered with forests, 
parts of which have been cleared away to make 
pasture land for cattle. Two rivers traverse the 
province; the Sinu, which rises in the mountains 
of Antioquia about 200 miles to the south and 
flows into the Caribbean at Cispata; and the river 
San Jorge which joins the Magdalena River near 
Magangué. The rainy season lasts from April to 
October, but the roads are almost impassable for 
nearly eight months of the year. The Sinu is a 
miniature Nile and overflows its banks in the wet 
season, inundating the surrounding country and 
blocking transportation except by boat. The pop- 
ulation of the Department was stated, in the cen- 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU 171 


sus of 1912, to be 420,730; there are probably 
500,000 people now resident there. “The pre- 
dominating type is that of the Negroes who are 
seen in almost pure type, being the direct descend- 
ants of the negro slaves imported by the Spaniards 
for work in the mines and plantations and on the 
defenses of Cartagena.” ‘There are some Indians, 
descendants of the original Carib tribes, and some 
Syrians or “Turcos,” as they are called locally, 
who devote themselves to shop-keeping and retail 
trade. 

The chief industry is cattle-raising. In all Co- 
lombia, in the 1915 census, the number of cattle 
was estimated to be 7,000,000; the figure is now 
put at 10,000,000. ‘There are three distinct regions 
where cattle are produced: in the sparsely settled 
llanos, or plains, of the Orinoco watershed; on the 
high plateaus near Bogota; and in the coast lands, 
especially those of Bolivar. The last named is the 
only section with transportation facilities which 
make exportation possible, and from the standpoint 
of foreign trade it is the most important. A pack- 
ing house with modern equipment is being built 
by the Colombian Products Company, backed by 
both Colombian and American capital, at Covenas, 
seventy miles from Cartagena, near the mouth of 
the Sinu River. The Department is being ex- 
plored for oil, and a well has been drilled near 
San Andre, about thirty miles from Covenas, by 
the Gulf Oil Company, but oil in paying quantities 
has not as yet been found. 

“ Bolivar was the first of the provinces of the 


172 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Kingdom of New Granada to be colonized by the 
Spaniards, but the cooler climate and the search 
for gold, never to be found near the coast, set the 
stream toward the interior. ‘Thus the far interior 
was sooner civilized than the coast, and this brought 
about a sort of atrophy of civilization in the places 
where it had been established first. Although less 
than 300 miles from Panama with its modern life, 
Bolivar still sleeps in an Old World repose.” * 

The only railroad is the one which connects 
Calamar and Cartagena. Covenas is reached by 
boat from Cartagena; the Sinu is ascended by 
launches and boats of light draught, the service of 
the larger vessels being discontinued in the dry 
season. ‘There are plans for building a road up the 
Sinu Valley, and it is possible at present to drive 
from Covenas to Monteria, twenty miles above 
Cerete, ninety miles in all, though half of the road 
is only a winding cattle trail or an unobstructed 
plain. Even this drive is possible only during the 
dry season of four months. 

Roman Catholicism was introduced into the re- 
gion by the Spanish conquerors in the early part 
of the sixteenth century. An account of the man- 
ner of its introduction is given by Mr. Cunning- 
hame Graham in his translation of a book on 
Colombian geography by Fernandez de Enciso, 
written after an expedition to the region of the 
Sinu in 1515. It reads: 

“T notified, from the king of Castile, two caci- | 


1 Cartagena and the Bunks of the Sinu, R. G. B. Cunninghame 
Graham, p. 2. 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU_ 173 


ques (chiefs) of the Cenu, that we were followers 
of the said king, and that we had come to let them 
know that there was only one God, who was in 
three parts, and yet one. That he was ruler of 
the heavens and of earth. That God had come 
down upon earth and left St. Peter to rule for him. 
That St. Peter had left as his successor the Holy 
Father, and that the Holy Father was lord of 
heaven and earth, acting on behalf of God. ‘That 
the said Holy Father as lord of the universe had 
made a present of all the Indies, including the 
Cenu, to the king of Castile. I further notified 
them that in virtue of this gift they were all sub- 
jects of the aforesaid king. That they must pay 
him full obedience, and send him something every 
year. If they did this the king would help them 
against their enemies and send them friars and 
priests to indoctrinate them in the Christian faith. 
“This said, I asked them for their answer, which 
they gave, saying that as to there being but one 
God, ruler of heaven and earth, it seemed quite 
reasonable; but that the pope was lord of heaven 
and earth on God’s behalf, and, acting with that 
power, had given their land to the king of Castile, 
they looked upon it as the action of a madman. 
“The pope, they said, must have been drunk 
when he did such a foolish thing as to give away 
something which had never belonged to him, and 
the king, who received it, just as mad as the pope. 
They said that they were lords of their own terri- 
tory, and wanted nothing either from pope or king. 
I again notified plainly to them that in that case I 


174 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


would make war upon them and sell them all for 
slaves. ‘Their answer was that they would kill me 
and stick my head upon a pole. This they tried 
hard to do, but we were too strong for them and 
took their villages, though they killed two of our 
men with poisoned arrows, although their wounds 
were very small.” 

The work of the Protestant Church in Bolivar 
was begun in 1910 on the Campanito Plantation 
about twenty-five miles from Cerete. Rev. and 
Mrs. John L. Jarrett, who had spent fifteen years 
in Peru in the pioneer work of the “ Regions Be- 
yond Mission ” of Great Britain, began this service 
in Bolivar. H.C. Coleman, of Philadelphia, the 
owner of the plantation, gave them active interest 
and financial support. ‘The story of the work of 
the Protestant Church in this Department is in- 
deed the story of the work of Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett 
and their daughter, Helen, aided financially by 
Mr. Coleman, and later by Mrs. J. Livingstone 
Taylor, of Cleveland, Ohio. A church was or- 
ganized at Campanito, and a school and medical 
work were maintained there. In 1912 meetings 
were started in Cartagena by representatives of the 
American Bible Society; a national worker was 
placed there, and Miss Jessie Scott, from the Bar- 
ranquilla Station, lived and worked there for two 
years. After that no resident missionary was avail- 
able. Itinerating among the towns near Campa- 
nito was carried on by Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett, and 
when a national evangelist was available in 1914, 
regular meetings and a school were started at 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU_ 175 





Wilches, a town of about 2,000, a mile above 
Cerete. When a second Colombian worker was 
added to the force in 1916, the regular work was 
begun in San Carlos, a town of about 4,000, fifteen 
miles from Campanito. In 1917 the Jarretts 
moved to Wilches, leaving a national worker in 
charge at Campanito. In that year a group at 
Laguneta was baptized and regular meetings were 
then begun. In 1919 the Jarretts moved to Cerete, 
a town of about 3,000, ninety miles from the mouth 
of the Sinu River. In 1920 through the gener- 
osity of Mrs. J. Livingstone Taylor, a mission 
residence was built at Cerete, where the Jarretts 
now live. Except for this house at Cerete the 
Mission does not own any property in the Depart- 
ment of Bolivar, the schools and congregations 
making use of rented houses and rooms. In 1921 
the support of the work of the Cerete Station, 
which had been financed by Mr. Coleman and 
Mrs. Taylor, was assumed by the Board, and fol- 
lowing a visit by two members of the Mission, 
Dr. Vanderbilt and Mr. Barber, action was taken 
by the Mission and Board establishing the Station 
of Cartagena, which should include Cerete, with 
the intention that the Cerete missionaries should 
spend some time each year in Cartagena, until ad- 
ditional missionaries can be placed there. The 
field of the Station includes practically all the 
Department of Bolivar. 

The Church members of the Sinu total forty-five, 
with fifty members in good standing in Cartagena. 
The schools, which enroll both boys and girls, 


176 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


have the following attendance: Campanito, twenty; 
Wilches, twenty; San Carlos, ninety; Cartagena, 
fifty; Cerete, just opened, twenty. 

These figures seem small, but they do not give 
_ an adequate or just indication of the influence of 
the Protestant Church, of its life-cleansing and 
strengthening power, and of its reputation and 
good name throughout the Sinu region. We had 
the opportunity of seeing with our own eyes some- 
thing of the accomplishments of those who had been 
moved by its spirit and ideals, and are full of thank- 
fulness for what has already been achieved, and of 
hope and expectancy for the future. 

Travel in Colombia is generally tedious, often 
precarious, and always uncertain. ‘The trip to and 
from Cerete filled out all these adjectives. At this 
time of the year the river Sinu is in its lowest stages 
and the regular boat service from Cartagena had 
been discontinued. It was necessary, accordingly, 
to locate a launch or small boat in which to make 
the trip. Mr. Jarrett finally succeeded in doing 
this, and introduced us to the Cold Spring, a 
converted catboat, seven by thirty-seven feet, in 
which a motor of doubtful horse power had been 
installed. A jib and a second sail had been added 
and a light cabin built for the protection of pas- 
sengers. ‘This boat was in the possession of two 
Englishmen and an American, with a crew of two 
Colombians. We engaged passage for the three of 
us in company with the Colombian travelers and 
looked forward to the trip with interest if not with 
pleasure. 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU 177 


We were due to leave at eight o’clock on the 
evening of March 5. The trade winds begin to 
blow in the morning about eight o’clock, and con- 
tinue to freshen until the afternoon, when the 
breeze is strongest. In the evening they die down 
and at midnight the air and sea are quite calm. 
Consequently most of the sea travel by the smaller 
boats is done at night. We were bound for Cove- 
nas, where we were to take an automobile for 
the overland trip to Cerete. To reach Covenas 
the smaller boats go down the bay of Cartagena 
nine miles, then through an inner passage for about 
eight miles. From there on, for about fifty-three 
miles, the boat is in the open sea, the last part of 
the route, about twenty miles past Point Tigua and 
across the Gulf of Morrosquillo, which is about the 
width of the English Channel, being most trouble- 
some. ‘The usual time for this trip of seventy miles 
by launch is ten or twelve hours, so that a boat 
which leaves in the evening arrives at Covenas at 
daybreak next morning. 

When we reached our boat at eight o’clock we 
found the engine dismantled and in an apparently 
complete state of disintegration. Dr. Browning 
and I took our places in the two bunks reserved for 
us in the bow cabin, which was about four and a 
half by six and a half feet in size, and Mr. Jarrett 
later settled himself in a bunk amidships. It was 
twelve o’clock before the assembling of the engine 
was completed. A full moon rose and cast its 
lovely light over all. In the tropics the moonlight 
is stronger and brighter than it is farther north, 


178 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


and in its radiance objects take on a more distinct 
outline and shape without losing the air of mystery 
and unreality that always marks a moonlit scene. 
On this night the silver light shone over the massive 
walls and picturesque houses and towers of Car- 
tagena; over La Popa, rising, Gibraltar-like, above 
the bay; over the boats riding so quietly in the silent 
harbor; and over the palm-covered island of Tierra 
Bomba that guards the harbor from the seaward 
side. ‘The great clock in the central tower of the 
wall struck the hour as we started, and the moon- 
light gleamed on our rippling wake as we moved 
down the bay. Masefield’s lines, written about 
another scene, fitted this one, with some slight 
alterations: 


“'Then the moon came quiet and flooded full 
Light and beauty on clouds like wool, 
On the ancient walls at rest from fighting, 
O’er the tall watch towers that the stars were 
lighting. 
The sleeping boats rode still in the night 
With Me fallen in poo of as 


A Aye struck ieee and the church bells 
chimed.” 


We woke to find the sun up and the boat sput- 
tering steadily along the coast. The sea, which 
under the first rays of morning light was a milky 
gray, changed to a lustrous pearl as the sun as- 
cended, then to an aquamarine, and finally to a 
delicate turquoise blue. Palm-crowned islands with 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU_ 179 


dazzling white beaches looked as if they had arisen 
from “ White Shadows in the South Seas.” 

All went well until about noon, when we rounded 
Point Tigua and started across the Gulf of Mor- 
rosquillo. At that hour we should have reached 
Covenas, but our motor was decrepit and made 
slow time, halting completely at inopportune in- 
tervals. The wind had freshened, and as it came 
from the west while we were headed due south, we 
caught the full force of the rising swell. At a 
quarter after two, when we were completely out of 
sight of land, the motor stopped. Sails were run 
up, and after half an hour of tossing in the trough 
of the waves the boat started again. We reached 
Covenas about five o’clock. The perverse engine 
stopped as we were nearing the pier and we had to 
sail in, to the delectation of the spectators on the 
wharf. The water and the air were both extraor- 
dinarily warm, so from that standpoint we should 
not have suffered much discomfort if we had cap- 
sized, but we were too far from shore, and there 
were too many sharks in those waters, to make the 
thought pleasant. We arrived in somewhat the 
condition ascribed to Don Quixote after one of his 
melodramatic encounters, referred to by Cunning- 
hame Graham in his description of a similar trip 
across this bay: molido y quebrantado, “ passed 
through a mill and broken up.” * 

We inspected the huge buildings of the packing 


1 On the return trip down the Sinu River, the Cold Spring struck 
a rock or submerged log, and sank with her crew and passengers. 
No one was hurt but the arrival in Cartagena was much delayed as 
a result of this accident. 


180 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


house at Covenas, in which over $2,000,000 have 
been invested, and left next day for the overland 
trip in a Ford car for Cerete, seventy miles away. 
This trip was accomplished without great difficulty, 
though the middle section of the route of fifteen 
miles had not been covered by an automobile for 
over a year. ‘There was a bamboo bridge to which 
we had to lower the car with ropes, and the road 
was merely a cattle trail which we followed as best 
we could. ‘The last section traverses great pas- 
tures, where we ran through herds of cattle and 
saw the Colombian cowboys, or vaqueros. 'The 
road had been flooded in the rainy season and had 
been terribly cut up by floundering cattle and 
horsemen; the highway had been allowed to dry 
with no attempt to work or improve it, and the 
consequent ridges and hummocks were impassable 
for even a Ford. Accordingly, wherever possible, 
we left the road and drove across the plain itself, 
finding it easier traveling, which is perhaps suf- 
ficient commentary on the condition and care of 
the highways of Bolivar. 

Late in the afternoon of March 7, we reached 
Cerete, a dusty collection of thatched houses with 
about 3,000 inhabitants on the banks of a branch 
of the Sinu, the river dividing into two parallel 
streams in this immediate section. We were wel- 
comed to the attractive home of the Jarretts, which 
stands at the other end of an extraordinary, bow- 
backed bridge. 

After we had reached Cerete it was necessary to 
return, and the recurring problems of transporta- 


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CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU 181 


tion had to be solved. We had expected to go 
down the Sinu River, ninety miles by launch or by 
dugout canoe, to the river’s mouth, and then to try 
to find some boat which would take us across the 
bay to Cartagena. On the morning of the twelfth, 
having made arrangements with a launch to carry 
us down the river, we arrived at Wilches, a mile 
above Cerete, at the appointed hour. The Colom- 
bian engineer of the boat did not appear until an 
hour later, and then started to overhaul the engine. 
After an hour’s industrious labor the mechanic had 
stripped so many screws and opened so many aper- 
tures in the machinery that, when at last the engine 
was started, it spit fire and fumes from every 
crevice and pore. After watching this for half an 
hour, we abandoned the trip down the river.’ 

The next day we took a Ford car over the same 
route by which we had come from Covenas. We 
covered the seventy miles in about seven hours’ 
driving, which was good time, considering the roads 
and the delays in extricating the machine from 
various cul-de-sacs. In one impasse it was neces- 
sary to chop out a path with a machete, but we 
reached Covenas in good condition and were glad 
to be on the brink of civilization again. 

We found that we could get transportation on 
the packing-house boat, the Covenas, which makes 
a weekly run to Cartagena, and, because of the 
dearth of other ships, carries passengers and their 
baggage. The Covenas is a vessel of departed 


1 We learned later that this boat broke down on the trip down 
the river and that those on board had to wait to be picked up, and 
did not reach the coast for several days. 


182 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


glories, and is an example of what unskillful hands, 
lack of care, and the tropics can do to a once 
beautiful boat. She was originally the Cherokee, 
built in 1903 for a well-known and wealthy poli- 
tician of New York City. A steam yacht, with 
graceful lines and once luxurious fittings, she 
seemed strangely out of place among the dugout 
canoes and the mongrel motor boats and dories of 
Morrosquillo Bay. Her once polished decks were 
darkened with grime, ground in by the naked feet 
of the dusky seamen and voyagers of the Carib- 
bean, and the mahogany cabins below and the once 
shining brass were stained and besmeared with dirt 
and grease and the rust of the tropics. But she 
was larger and faster than the Cold Spring, and 
we were glad to have the opportunity of crossing 
on her to Cartagena. 

We sailed a little before three o’clock on the 
morning of the fourteenth; reached 'Tolt, the one- 
time Spanish capital of the district, at a quarter of 
four; took on passengers and their baggage; and 
started for Cartagena at a quarter of five. The 
sea was fairly smooth and the boat made good time 
until about nine-thirty, when we rounded Baru 
Island and were in the open sea an hour and a half’s 
run from Cartagena. ‘The wind was up by that 
time, and the next ninety minutes were not com- 
fortable. It seems that almost every boat or train 
on which our deputation has traveled has had some 
kind of accident or mishap, either just before or 
just after our use of this means of transportation. 
The mate of the Covenas, when we were in the 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU 183 


roughest part of the sea outside Cartagena har- 
bor, told us that on the second trip before this a 
pipe in the boiler had burst when the ship was in 
about this same location. The fires had gone out, 
and to keep from being driven on the beach it was 
necessary to anchor in seventeen fathoms of water 
(over a hundred feet), and to repair the boiler. 
This work required about twelve hours; there was 
a violent wind and an increasingly rough sea; the 
boat had thirty-eight passengers, who became 
panic-stricken, and the whole incident was not 
happy. ‘This recital did not make our voyage 
more pleasant, but we finally reached Boca Chica, 
the southern entrance of the sheltered harbor of 
Cartagena, and were glad to be sailing up the 
quiet waters past Tierra Bomba and the ruined 
forts to the peaceful city at the northern end of 
the bay. 

In the five days from March 7 to 12 we visited 
Cerete and the surrounding towns and communi- 
ties, San Carlos, Campanito, Ciénaga de Oro, 
“ Marsh of Gold,” Wilches, and Monteria; we held 
services at San Carlos and at Cerete. At Monteria 
Dr. Browning spoke to a gathering of more than 
600 people, who gave him and his message a most 
enthusiastic reception. His theme was ‘“ What 
Evangelical Christianity Has Done for Latin 
America,” and the audience was composed of the 
leading citizens of the locality, officials of the gov- 
ernment, and a strong representation of the arti- 
sans of the city, many of these men accompanied 
by their wives and families. On the day after the 


184 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


meeting at San Carlos Mr. Jarrett and I rode 
from that town to the Campanito plantation and 
then on to Ciénaga de Oro, a total of thirty-five 
miles, following a narrow, winding trail through 
the primitive jungle. We heard owl monkeys 
howling in the forest; deer, peccaries, and an oc- 
casional jaguar — called “tiger” by the natives 
— inhabit these woods, but we saw no signs of them 
on this trip. Sunday morning Mr. and Mrs. Jar- 
rett conducted the service at Wilches, while Dr. 
Browning and I attended the morning service at 
Cerete; Sunday evening the Cerete chapel was 
crowded, with many in the doorways and outside 
the windows. A priest came to hold service that 
night in the town, and it was reported that not a 
single person went to the Catholic church. We 
found no places in Colombia more open to the 
Protestant message than these towns of the Sinu 
Valley. ‘The Catholic Church has lost its hold upon 
the people; the inhabitants of this region are in a 
state of transition, and our Church will have done 
them a grave disservice if, after having had a part 
in awakening them to a sense of higher values and 
principles, it does not strengthen and serve them in 
their groping after new ideals and loyalties. 

One missionary family in a Department with a 
population of half a million cannot adequately 
serve this cause. ‘There is an immediate need for 
reénforcements, for an increase in the current bud- 
get of the Station, and for the acquiring of prop- 
erty which will render unnecessary the continual 
payment of rents. Over half of the present budget 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU 185 


of the Station, which totals about $3,500, not in- 
cluding the salaries of the missionaries, is expended 
in these rentals. In a Station meeting on the 
eleventh a program was mapped out for the com- 
ing five-year period. This included requests for 
property in Monteria, $4,000 for land and $4,000 
for church, residences, and school; $10,000 for the 
purchase of land in Cartagena, $10,000 for the 
building of a chapel and a school and $6,000 for 
a missionary residence there; $4,000 for land and 
property for a school and chapel in Cerete, and 
half that sum for the same purpose in San Carlos, 
Covenas, and Wilches. Mrs. Jarrett has done a 
remarkable service medically among the women of 
these towns, and the Station is asking for $500 to 
be invested in equipment for a dispensary, which 
she can establish at Cerete. A Ford car for travel 
in the dry season and a launch for use in the rainy 
season ought to be added to the equipment of the 
Station. Work ought to be begun in Cartagena 
as soon as possible, and a budget of $1,000 will be 
needed in its initial phases; the current, concrete 
needs in Monteria, San Carlos, and Cerete would 
justify an expansion of the present budget of the 
Station during the five-year period under consid- 
eration, by an additional $3,000. An ordained 
missionary and his wife are needed to begin work 
in Cartagena, this request standing first on the Mis- 
sion list last year; an ordained missionary should 
be placed in Monteria as soon as practicable; the 
Station is asking, in addition, for a woman teacher 
for Cartagena, or for Cerete, if Miss Helen 


186 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Jarrett should be placed in the former city; and a 
nurse is requested for work in Cerete or Monteria. 
There are no other missionaries at work in this 
whole field, except the three members of the Jarrett 
family; in the light of the needs and the opportuni- 
ties this five-year program for personnel, for ap- 
propriations for the current budget, and for prop- 
erty is one that the Church should support. 
When we were in Bogota and in the surround- 
ing regions we saw to what low levels the people 
on those highland plateaus could fall; in Bolivar 
we saw similar deterioration and degradation 
among the inhabitants of the tropical lowlands. 
In the former region it was among the Indians; 
here, among the Negroes. In the country villages 
and along the river and the roads the people live 
in rough huts with thatched roofs and bamboo walls. 
The children up to six and eight years of age go 
about entirely naked, frequently with distended 
abdomens indicating disease; we saw men clothed 
only in loin cloths, and the clothes which are worn 
consist usually of one or two garments, shapeless 
and stained with dust and dirt. We saw two lepers, 
one by a hut in the midst of the jungle, the other 
riding along the highroad near Covenas. The 
scenes in these villages, with the palms and the tropi- ~ 
cal foliage in the background, could hardly have 
been different if we had been visiting our West 
Africa Mission in Cameroun, instead of a Mission in 
supposedly Christian America. No doubt many of 
the ancestors of these Negro inhabitants came from 
Cameroun, and to-day the evil effects of that slave 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU 187 


trade hang like a pall over the three coast provinces 
of Colombia. ~ 

In most of these towns there are no schools. 
The percentage of illiteracy is unbelievably high. 
In San Carlos in a family of better standing than 
the average whom we visited only one out of eight 
could read. The figures for the whole town would 
be between ninety and ninety-five per cent of il- 
literates. ‘The ratio of illegitimacy is even more 
desolating. In this town with 4,000 inhabitants, 
one of our workers who had lived there most of his 
life said that there were not over thirty couples who 
had been legally married. The others form tem- 
porary liaisons, but are bound by no ties of Church 
or State. The results of these conditions in broken 
homes, in deserted children, and in disease cannot 
be described. 

The Catholic Church has no doubt done service 
of unquestionable value in holding before the 
people the name and fact of Christ, even though 
the vision given is but partial and distorted, and 
in erecting certain restraints and barriers which 
have served the social life and relationships of the 
warm-blooded people of this country. But to-day 
the Church has lost its grip, its liturgies are dis- 
regarded, and its priests derided and ignored. It 
is through the very nature of the lives of many of 
these priests that the Church has lost much of its 
influence. The children of these priests are scat- 
tered throughout the country; the grandfather and 
great-grandfather of one of our own national 
workers were priests. The great majority of the 


188 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


people live without the inspiration or sanction of 
any Church. There are only three priests resident 
on the Sinu River, a district with a population of 
100,000. The word “heathen” is not a nice- 
sounding word, but if it is ever right to apply it 
to any people, it is as applicable to these people in 
America as to those in Africa or Asia. And these 
“heathen” live less than 300 miles from Panama 
and less than 1,300 miles from the southern coasts 
of our own land, which is blessed by the light of 
the Christian gospel in its purity and power, and 
by resources in life and in material well-being 
which enable it to share this gospel with people on 
the other side of the world. If with Asia and 
Africa, why not with America? If the word of 
truth and light is to be carried to the uttermost 
parts of the earth, should it not also be shared with 
those who are our neighbors? 

There are those who maintain that missions in 
South America are not necessary, because the 
people there already have a form of the Christian 
religion. I think that one day on the road to 
Bogota or in the valley of the Sinu would be suf- 
ficient answer to this argument. What is the 
Christian religion? James, the Lord’s brother, de- 
fined that religion which is pure and undefiled as 
visiting “the fatherless and widows in their af- 
fliction ” and keeping “ oneself unspotted from the 
world.” There are many widows and fatherless 
in the valley of the Sinu; there is affliction which 
is deep and desolate; in the quagmire of temptation 
and unrestraint in that valley it is hard indeed to 


CERETE AND VALLEY OF THE SINU_ 189 


keep unspotted and clean. The Christian religion 
is love and purity; as long as any land does not 
possess those two attributes it does not possess the 
religion of Christ, and it is an unescapable obliga- 
tion, as well as an ever-blessed joy, for those who 
do have the meaning of service and of cleanliness 
of heart and life through Christ, to share such in- 
estimable riches with those in dreadful need. 


CHAPTER XIV 


CARTAGENA AND THE CALL FOR CONQUISTA- 
DORES OF THE CROSS IN COLOMBIA TO-DAY 


Puerto CoLomBia, 
March 19, 1923 


N March 15 we arrived again in Cartagena; 

on the seventeenth we sailed on the United 
Fruit steamer Sixaola for Puerto Colombia, from 
which port we were to take a boat for Venezuela. 
This was the third time that we had been in Car- 
tagena during our two months and a half in Co- 
lombia. Our previous visits had been hurried and 
filled with engagements. This time, due to the 
delay of our boat in sailing, we had more oppor- 
tunity for impressions of its historic and pictur- 
esque buildings and institutions. 

Mr. Cunninghame Graham has given a vivid 
word picture of the city as it appears to one on 
shipboard entering the bay: 

“Cartagena seems to rise out of the waves, as if 
a coral reef had suddenly been raised out of the 
depths; it looks sea-born and ethereal, when seen 
from a vessel’s deck. ... A mass of domes and 
towers, of houses painted pink, with brown-tiled 
roofs, gleam in the sun. A golden haze softens 
and blends them into a picture; showing no outline, 
melting into the atmosphere, intangible and look- 

190 


CARTAGENA 191 


ing like the mirage of a town seen in a dream. 
The floating city is ringed round with a vast, brown 
wall, turreted here and there with towers, broken 
by bastions and by counterscarps. Great gates 
yawn here and there in which portcullises are ready, 
or were ready until time devoured them, to drop 
upon the foe. All the medieval art of fortifications 
seems to have been exhausted, as if some De Vau- 
ban of those days had wrought his masterpieces 
and then retired, knowing his work impregnable if 
hearts were stout enough behind its walls. Palms 
and more palms fringe all the shores; castle suc- 
ceeds castle, El] Pastelillo, El] Manzanillo, and San 


Lazaro upon its isolated rock ... and beyond 
rises the hill known as La Popa, from its resem- 
blance to the stern of a galleon. . . . As you draw 


near the shore the cathedral dome seems to de- 
tach itself from the sea of rose-pink houses, and the 
towers of La Merced, Santo Tomas, and La Trini- 
dad stand up like lighthouses above the massive 
walls and the compacted houses of the town... . 
No one would feel surprised if there were still gal- 
leons at anchor or if the captain of the port were to 
come off dressed in trunk hose and cloak, his rapier 
riding on his thigh.” * 

Cartagena is rich in churches which are charac- 
teristic of the various generations that built them. 
The oldest, perhaps, is the Church of San Pedro 
Claver, which was founded in 1603 under Philip 
III, and was dedicated to St. Ignatius de Loyola. 
It is built of warm brown sandstone, in the usual 

1 Cartagena and the Banks of the Sinu, pp. 125-127, 


192 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


massive and dignified style of the Jesuits. On the 
exterior of the church is an inscription in four 
languages, Spanish, French, German, and English, 
which declares that the church guards the remains 
of San Pedro Claver, who is buried within. Claver 
arrived in the Indies in 1610 and devoted himself 
to work among the Negro slaves, being given the 
title, ““ Apostle of the Negroes.” It is said that 
he baptized 200,000 Negroes, “besides a great 
quantity of Moors, English, and other heretics.” 
Claver died in 1654 and was canonized by the pope 
in 1888. ‘The church is a good example of the 
Jesuit architecture at its best, and it shelters the 
bones of a man who represents the best product of 
the Society of Jesus, which is known in Cartagena 
for other fruit not so worthy of praise. 

The cathedral, an unimpressive building in the 
Greco-Roman style, is not so, picturesque or pleas- 
ing as the Church of San Pedro Claver. Within, 
stand two great rows of marble pillars, which have 
been painted or stained with varying tints of red 
and brown, running in grotesque patterns from 
floor to ceiling. ‘The arches above are stenciled 
with crude markings in crimson and yellow, against 
a glaring white background, and the ceiling is 
painted a sky-blue with gilt stars liberally inter- 
spersed. ‘The effect is somewhat like that of cheap 
bunting, and the whole interior of the cathedral 
reflects African rather than Hispanic taste. A 
series of mural paintings in the unhappy modern 
style of Latin-American churches, depicts the 
twelve stations of the cross and other scenes from 


CARTAGENA 193 


the life of Christ and of various saints and apostles, 
but nowhere in this church, or in any other in Co- 
lombia, did we see a picture of the resurrection, or 
any reference to its fact and its significance. There 
are three objects in the interior which are less crude 
and more worthy of attention. ‘The gilded wall 
back of the main altar, with its golden saints and 
figures of the Virgin, is characteristic of Spain and 
of Spanish Catholicism, which is at least artistic; 
a newly built alcove in white marble, which frames 
a shining picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the 
original of which we had seen in Mexico, has an air 
of quiet beauty and tranquillity that contrasts 
sharply with the gaudy trimmings and inhuman 
figures in the central nave; and a beautifully carved 
marble pulpit, decorated with figures of apostles 
and saints, with marble canopy and winding stair- 
case, though somewhat floridly colored, is a true 
example of Italian art which draws and holds one’s 
attention. 

There is an interesting legend concerning this 
pulpit and the method of its arrival in the cathe- 
dral. ‘This legend says that the pulpit was origi- 
nally sent by the pope to Cartagena in a Spanish 
vessel. A British ship attacked the galleon, plun- 
dered its contents, threw the cases containing the 
marble pulpit overboard, and then sailed away. 
The marble cases miraculously floated; the Spanish 
crew rescued them, and went on toward Cartagena. 
The ship was next attacked by a Dutch vessel, 
whose seamen murdered the Spanish crew and set 
fire to the boat. The ship and its cargo sank, but 


194 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the cases of marble came to the surface and went 
ashore under the walls of Cartagena. Merchants 
found them there and set such a prohibitive price 
upon them that the bishop of Cartagena was un- 
able to buy them; they were placed on a ship bound 
for Spain, with the intention of selling them there; 
but the vessel was wrecked and the cases floated 
through Boca Chica, the entrance to the harbor, 
and so up the bay to the beach at Cartagena. They 
were thereupon taken up by the bishop, and the 
pulpit installed in the cathedral, where it is to be 
seen to-day. 

In Cabrero, a suburban district situated on a 
sandy isthmus to the north of the main city, stands 
a dainty white chapel built of marble, with min- 
arets and spire-crowned towers like a Moham- 
medan mosque. It was erected recently in memory 
of the late President Nunez; with the sapphire- 
blue waters of the lagoon before it, and the fresh 
green of royal palms in the background, it makes 
a charming picture, and is a refreshing example 
of an unusual type of modern ecclesiastical archi- 
tecture. 

But perhaps most interesting is the famous, or 
infamous, ‘“‘ House of the Inquisition,” which faces 
the Plaza de Bolivar near the cathedral. The 
square is full of beautiful palm trees and tropical 
shrubs, and in the center stands an equestrian 
statue of Bolivar, with the inscription on its base: 


“ Cartageneros, si Caracas me dio vida, 
V osotros me disteis gloria! 
Salve Cartagena redentora 


Jad 


CARTAGENA 195 





“ Carthaginians; if Caracas gave me life, 
You gave me glory! 
Hail, Cartagena, the Redeeming City!” 


La Casa de la Inquisicion is a solid, white-walled 
building, with a red-tiled roof and a giant doorway. 
The arch over the doorway is decorated by heavy 
stone carvings, with a cross cut above what was 
once the state seal of Spain, whose details have 
been effaced. In the wall of the first story are 
small round windows, like portholes in a ship, but 
heavily barred. In these rooms of the first floor 
were imprisoned the victims of the Inquisition; 
there are more iron bars and gratings visible from 
the courtyard within, and a small doorway on the 
second floor leads to the death chamber, where 
those condemned were despatched by the rack, by 
fire, and by a species of “ Iron Maiden” resem- 
bling the historic “ Maiden” of Nuremberg. In 
the cellar wall of the cathedral can be seen the 
grating, with its iron spikes, upon which heretics 
were placed over a slow fire, the gridiron now being 
put to the more pacific service of a protection for 
one of the cathedral’s cellar windows. In the 
second story of the House of the Inquisition are 
the rooms which were used as judgment halls in 
the trials conducted by the Holy Office. The 
whole building is now in the possession of a Co- 
lombian family, and the lower story is used as an 
office and a store. 

The contrast between the beautiful plaza, with 
its tossing palm trees and rustling shade, the words 


196 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


of “‘ Bolivar, the Liberator,” and the House of the 
Inquisition, with all that it represents, is impres- 
sive and depressing. Charles Kingsley in West- 
ward Ho!, describing the experiences of the “ Rose 
of Devon” and of Eustace Leigh, who had be- 
trayed her and brought her to the House of the 
Inquisition, has pictured truly the facts of that time 
and place, though they are presented in a work of 
fiction: 

“The scene is shifted to a long, low range of 
cells in a dark corridor in the city of Cartagena. 
The door of one is open; and within stand two 
cloaked figures, one of whom we know. It is 
Eustace Leigh. ‘The other is a familar of the Holy 
OTICey agua 

“A man’s voice is plainly audible within, low 
but distinct. The notary is trying that old charge 
of witchcraft, which the Inquisitors, whether to 
justify themselves to their own consciences, or to 
whiten their villainy somewhat in the eyes of the 
mob, so often brought against their victims. And 
then Eustace’s heart sinks within him as he hears a 
woman’s voice reply, sharpened by indignation and 
AION ose Ne 

‘“ A wail which rings through Eustace’s ears and 
brain and heart! He would have torn at the door 
to open it; but his companion forces him away. 
Another, and another wail, while the wretched man 
hurries off, stopping his ears in vain against those 
piercing cries, which follow him, like avenging 
angels, through the dreadful vaults. 

“ He escaped into the fragrant open air, and the 


YOOH NV SATIN AAIA JO UAHLO AHL SALONIW V ATVH V GNV GNV ATIN 
yY dO AITA@VdVO ANO :NOILVLUOdSNVUL NI LSVULNOD NVIAWOTOO V AGNV NOISSINWOO AHL AO YHANAN V 





Lh, oe 
met oo, te te 
. 


U = 
| i o¥i op 
LA te 
S » 





CARTAGENA 197 


golden tropic moonlight, and a garden which might 
have served as a model for Eden; but man’s hell 
followed into God’s heaven, and still those wails 
seemed to ring through his ears.” 

The days of the Inquisition are over, but there 
is something of its spirit still at work in Colombia. 
The attempt is still being made to form and alter 
men’s opinions by force, and to withhold the min- 
istrations of mercy to those in need, if their ecclesi- 
astical beliefs do not coincide with those of the dom- 
inant Church, which controls the government and 
most of its institutions, both civic and philanthropic. 

Men have been threatened with the loss of their 
governmental positions if they should attend meet- 
ings of the Protestant Church. In Cartagena, at 
the time when this is being written, there are four 
prisoners, members of the Liberal Party, which is 
committed to the principle of the separation of 
Church and State and revision of the Concordat. 
These men have been brought here without trial 
for alleged attempts to stir up a revolution in 
Monteria at the election held on February 4 for 
representatives in the departmental congress from 
that District. The town of Monteria, in its voting 
constituency, has a ratio of ten Liberal votes to one 
Conservative, but at the recent election, through 
intimidation and manipulation, the voting was de- 
clared a victory for the Conservative Party, with 
three Conservative candidates and one pseudo- 
Liberal elected. These four members of the Lib- 
eral Party under suspicion were arrested on false 
charges and sent to Cartagena. ‘There is irony in 


198 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


the fact that one of these four men was a candidate 
for election as representative, and it is reported 
that he would have received the necessary plurality 
of votes if the election had been honestly conducted. 
These men have lost their liberty and their means 
of livelihood and there is no certainty as to when 
they will regain their freedom. Such incidents 
could be repeated indefinitely. ‘The Catholic 
Church, which should have a purifying influence 
in the political as well as in the social life of the 
country, raises no voice of protest against such 
actions, but rather uses its power to countenance 
and shield them. 

Another recent incident, which is typical, is re- 
lated to the conduct of the governmental asylum 
for lepers on the island of Tierra Bomba, bordering 
Cartagena Bay. ‘This institution is one of three 
leper colonies in Colombia; they are maintained by 
the government, and confinement there is compul- 
sory for lepers throughout the country. 

It happens that in the Cartagena colony there 
are sixteen men, with their wives and families, who 
are Protestants. Under the Constitution they are 
entitled to freedom of worship, but this freedom 
has been denied them and they have been punished 
by close confinement and by a reduction of one half 
of their meager rations because they assembled to 
worship. An appeal was made to the judge of 
the colony and was referred to the central govern- 
ment in Bogota. The official responsible for the 
conduct of these asylums recently replied, instruct- - 
ing the authorities in the Cartagena colony to ad- 


CARTAGENA 199 


vise the petitioners that “the religion imposed by 
the government in that establishment is the Roman 
Catholic Apostolic religion, for the carrying out of 
which the government maintains a chaplain, a 
minister of the said Church, who will not agree to 
any other worship being established there. 

“That the head office in Bogota in 1918 dictated 
Resolution Number 65 as follows: ‘ The practice in 
public of any religion other than the Roman 
Catholic Apostolic religion, which is the religion 
of the Republic of Colombia, is prohibited,’ which 
resolution was approved by the supreme authori- 
ties.” 

The official therefore instructed the local officials 

in the Cartagena colony: 
“1. To refuse absolutely the request of the peti- 
tioners [for permission to hold their meetings] and 
give them to understand that if they carry on their 
plan and continue their meetings they will be pun- 
ished by the authorities and declared disturbers of 
the peace, losing thereby the right to fifty per cent 
of their rations. 2. To make known to the peti- 
tioners this resolution by means of the chief of 
police, who is to take note of it and see to its being 
carried out.” 

Representatives of the Protestant Church have 
been refused admittance to the asylum, and no 
ministers of this faith are permitted to visit the 
lepers there. The life of any leper, even in an in- 
stitution, is pitiable indeed, and it is difficult to 
understand how any human beings can deny them 
the comfort and consolation of worshiping God 


200 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


according to the dictates of their own conscience. 
Furthermore, the Constitution of Colombia ex- 
pressly grants this right to all citizens, and lepers 
have not lost their citizenship. But there was no 
place for clemency toward non-Catholics in the sys- 
tem of the Inquisition as practiced until the be- 
ginning of the last century, and where the Catholic 
Church in Colombia has untrammeled control, the 
Concordat takes precedence over the Constitution, 
and there is no place for that clemency to-day. 

The story of one of these lepers, who has been 
released from the asylum, was written by him at our 
request, and a summary of his statements follows: 

“The city of Medellin, once a village, now the 
capital of the Department of Antioquia, is situated 
in a beautiful valley ona branch of the River 
Porce. In the suburbs of this city I was born. 
My parents, because of their poverty, removed 
while I was quite young to Sopetran, my mother’s 
birthplace. 

“My infancy was passed in begging, and with- 
out any instruction save that which I received from 
a neighbor. But my desire to enter the priesthood 
was great, and I carried a book with me everywhere 
and begged lessons at every opportunity. 

“When I was somewhat grown up my parents 
sent me to an uncle some three days’ journey dis- 
tant, with whom I was to work and who promised 
to send something to my parents for my services. 
I do not know of his ever having sent anything. 
Because he wished to chastise me unjustly I ran 
away from him, but was in such a miserable plight, 


CARTAGENA 201 


without clothing and without money, that I was 
ashamed to return to my parents. When I finally 
returned home my parents were dead. 

“In the three years’ war I sought refuge in the 
Department of Bolivar. Living with the Indians 
in the dense forests I forgot all about God and fell 
into almost every sin of which man is capable. 

“In 1916, on a visit to my home, I found a 
Bible, and at first, in spite of my spiritual destitu- 
tion, I did not think that this was the anchor which 
God had thrown out to save perishing souls. ‘This 
Bible was taken from me by a priest in the town 
of Ituanga and I remained in deep darkness and 
confusion as to the way of salvation. 

“T left home again and returned to Bolivar. 
My sickness did not decrease, but rather increased, 
and in Ure I met a man who confirmed my sus- 
picions that I was a leper. The notice soon spread 
and I concluded that I must leave the district. 
While waiting for a means of transportation, I met 
an old friend, a Syrian, who gave me some evangeli- 
cal tracts. That same night I left for Ayapel and 
did not see him again for several days. When we 
met I asked him where he had found these tracts, 
which had so rejoiced my heart and lifted my burden 
and made me forget my sufferings. He answered 
me, “This is the true religion founded by Christ 
and the apostles, based solely upon the Bible.’ He 
asked me if I wanted a Bible; with passion I said, 
‘Yes.’ In a few days he secured one for me, and 
I soon found that in it was revealed the true re- 
ligion and a Saviour for me. 


202 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





“ Under the direction of this friend I found my 
way to Campanito to the Mission of the Presby- 
terian Board. There I was further instructed and 
given other books and finally, with the help of Mr. 
Jarrett, I was sent to Cartagena where the doctor 
sent me to the leper asylum. I was very sick for 
some time but I could not keep silent about my new 
religion, and I always had the hope of being cured 
and leaving the asylum. Without any treatment 
the sickness gradually left me, until you behold 
me now a hew, strong man, desirous of serving the 
Lord. ‘The group of believers suffered with me 
in the asylum, being imprisoned and deprived of 
their food for meeting together and singing, but 
God was our help. My experience is a testimony 
to the power of the living God and a testimony to 
the love of Christ to whom is given all power in 
heaven and earth. To Him be glory and praise for 
the eternal ages. — Luis Maria Carbajal. Febru- 
ary, 1923.” 

In the conclusion of his chapter on “ The In- 
quisition in the Indies,’ Kingsley summarizes the 
effect upon Eustace Leigh of his relationship to the 
Jesuit order. Men have spoken to us in Colombia 
to-day who have used practically the same words 
that Kingsley used in this chapter years ago. We 
have talked with representatives of this order and 
of kindred organizations of the Catholic Church, 
Colombians, Spaniards, and English, and we are 
forced to subscribe to Kingsley’s own words as to 
the effects of the system of thought and of practice 
of these orders upon the mental and moral integ- 


CARTAGENA 203 


rity and veracity of their members. I do not know 
personally of their results in other lands; but I do 
know that these words are true of Colombia to-day: 

“ Kustace Leigh vanishes henceforth from these 
pages. ... This book is a history of men; of 
men’s virtues and sins, victories and defeats: and 
Eustace is a man no longer; he is become a thing, 
a tool, a Jesuit; which goes only where it is sent, 
and does good or evil indifferently as it is bid; 
which, by an act of moral suicide, has lost its soul, 
in the hope of saving it; without a will, a conscience, 
a responsibility (as it fancies), to God or man, but 
only to ‘ The Society.’ In a word, Eustace, as he 
says himself, is ‘dead.’ Twice dead, I fear. Let 
the dead bury their dead. We have no more con- 
cern with Eustace Leigh.” 

It is possible thus easily to relieve oneself of 
responsibility, for characters in fiction, but it is 
neither possible nor right for those who love God 
and their fellow men to turn their backs upon the 
responsibility of service to those who are in such 
need of truth and light and purity of life in Christ 
as are the people of Colombia to-day. 

On the evening of the eighteenth, our ship sailed 
for Puerto Colombia. We arrived there the next 
day and had the privilege during our brief stay of 
visiting again our schools in Barranquilla. We 
are to sail to-day for Venezuela, and our days in 
Colombia will be over. A new moon will be in 
the sky as we cross the Caribbean. Words written 
by Alfred Noyes picture the scene as it was four 
centuries ago and as it is to-day: 


204 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





“The moon is up; the stars are bright; 
The wind is fresh and free! 
We are out to seek for gold to-night 
Across the silver sea! 
The world was growing grey and old; 
Break out the sails again! 
We're out to seek a Realm of Gold 
Beyond the Spanish Main. 


“Beyond the light of far Cathay, 
Beyond all mortal dreams, 
Beyond the reach of night and day, 
Our El Dorado gleams, 
Revealing — as the skies unfold — 
A star without a stain, 
The Glory of the Gates of Gold 
Beyond the Spanish Main.” 


The physical warfare between Protestant Anglo- 
Saxons and Roman Catholic Spaniards, with the 
jure of El Dorado and of far-reaching realms as 
the guerdon of victory, is no more; but another 
type of warfare is being fought out to-day, with a 
far greater and more precious prize to be won, the 
souls of men and of nations hanging in the balance. 
“Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but 
against the principalities, against the powers, 
against the world-rulers of this darkness, against 
the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly 
places.” A man needed the whole armor of God 
if he were to stand in that combat in the early days 
of the Church; the battle to-day will require cour- 


CARTAGENA 205 


age and steadfastness and skill, and that same God- 
given armor. There is the call to-day for conquis- 
tadores of the cross of the living Christ, who will 
brave the Spanish Main, to bring life instead of 
death, love instead of fear, for despair an imperish- 
able hope, and in the place of sorrow and sighing 
a joy unspeakable and full of glory. 


CHAPTER XV 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH OF 
COLOMBIA 


HE Republic of Colombia occupies the ex- 
treme northwestern corner of South America 
and, alone among the ten republics that form this 
grand division, enjoys the advantage of possessing 
a coast line on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 
The total area of the republic is reckoned at 476,916 
square miles, although the lack of definite boundary 
treaties with neighboring nations makes an exact 
statement impossible. But leaving out of the reck- 
oning large tracts of territory in the far interior, 
which are still in dispute, the area of the republic 
would still be two and a half times as large as 
Spain, or equivalent to the combined areas of Ger- 
many, France, Holland, Belgium, and Switzer- 
land. In comparison with areas in the United 
States, this would be equivalent to the combined 
territory of all the states on the Atlantic seacoast, 
from Maine to Florida, plus that of Ohio and 
Indiana. 

The Republic of Colombia les entirely within 
the Torrid Zone, but, because of the elevation of 
certain portions of the interior, all degrees of 
climate may be found within its borders. Along 
the coast, and for many miles inland from the 

206 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 207 


Caribbean Sea on the north, and from the Pacific 
Ocean on the west, the constant and extreme heat 
reminds one of the seething plains of India “ where 
the ’eat would make yer bloomin’ eyebrows crawl.” 
Among the foothills there is eternal spring, like 
that of Southern California or Florida; and on the 
high plateaus, which stretch up to regions of per- 
petual snow and terminate in peaks that rise to 
18,000 feet above the sea, extreme cold not in- 
frequently causes the death of travelers, the inhabi- 
tants are few, and life is both difficult and insecure. 

The great Cordillera de los Andes, coming up 
the south and forming the backbone of the conti- 
nent, divides into three ranges, on reaching the 
frontier of Colombia, which are known as the 
Western, the Central, and the Eastern Cordillera. 
Other cross lines and high plateaus break the con- 
tinuity of these three ranges and give to Colombia 
an appearance not unlike that of Switzerland. 
Many travelers also find in the attractive and fer- 
tile valleys of the interior a great similarity to the 
valleys and hills of California. The flora and the 
fauna of the two sections are also similar, as are 
also the Spanish traditions and the inheritances 
from early settlers. 

Because of the trend of the mountain ranges 
from south to north, the principal rivers take the 
same general direction: the Magdalena, which is 
the most important way of communication in the 
republic, is navigable for eight hundred miles of its 
tortuous course, falling in that distance only 1,066 
feet; the Atrato empties into the Gulf of Darien 


208 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


southeast of Panama; the Cauca, after draining 
the beautiful valley of the same name — said to be 
one of the nearest approaches to the Garden of 
Eden that man has known—empties into the 
Magdalena; and the Sinu, which drains the north- 
western section of the country, between the Atrato 
and the Magdalena, empties into the Caribbean 
Sea about seventy miles west of the walled city of 
Cartagena. 

To the east of the mountain ranges lie vast, un- 
explored regions with which communication is both 
difficult and infrequent. ‘These selvas are unin- 
habited, save by a few wandering tribes of Indians 
of whose number no exact statistics can be made. 

The great majority of the population inhabit the 
interior uplands and the Atlantic coast region. 
Along the two coast lines and extending to the 
foothills, this population shows decided traces of 
African ancestry; and the skin varies in color from 
the deepest black to a light brown in which the 
influence of the dark stream is detected only in 
kinky hair and slightly flattened noses. 

Due to diverse climatic conditions already men- 
tioned, the productions of Colombia are both va- 
ried and abundant. Along the coast in the hot belt 
all the usual tropical fruits abound, especially 
bananas, the growth and exportation of which form 
one of the principal industries of the region. From 
the port of Santa Marta, where the United Fruit 
Company operates extensive plantations equipped 
with the latest machinery for loading the fruit on 
its specially constructed refrigerator boats, at least 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 209 


10,000,000 bunches are shipped annually to the 
United States. In the interior, grains and other 
products of the Temperate Zone are easily pro- 
duced. Coffee grows in the valleys and on the hills 
of the lower uplands, and is one of the chief ex- 
ports. The coffee of Colombia has a peculiarly 
agreeable flavor and is used extensively in forming 
the blends preferred by coffee lovers of the United 
States and Europe, and when taken alone seems 
to lack the hurtful qualities of the stronger grades. 
An exporter of this product told us that at least 
three million bags are shipped out of the country 
annually, and that Colombia now stands second 
only to Brazil among the coffee-producing coun- 
tries of the world. 

There is great mineral wealth in the hills and 
mountains of Colombia, but this source of national 
income has been but slightly exploited. Emerald 
mines produce the world’s chief supply of this most 
precious of gems, and gold in paying quantities 
may be washed, even by the most primitive proc- 
esses, from the sand of the streams of the interior. 
Placer mining is carried on, to some extent, in some 
of the best known auriferous regions, yet it may be 
repeated that the mining industry of Colombia is 
still in its infancy. A number of strong American 
and British companies have bought or leased enor- 
mous tracts of land which promise to yield oil, and 
some of them, such as the Tropical Oil Company, 
with headquarters at Barranca Bermeja on the 
Magdalena River, are already producing and ex- 
porting a good grade of oil in satisfactory quanti- 


210 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


ties. ‘Thick veins of coal crop out of the hills in 
many parts of the country, and some of the most 
promising salt mines of the world are being oper- 
ated in the Department of Boyaca. The salt, after 
being refined and molded into portable blocks, is 
carried on mule back throughout the surrounding 
Departments. 

For purposes of administration, the territory of 
the republic is divided into fourteen departments, 
three territories, and seven districts. ‘The depart- 
ments are subdivided into municipal districts, the 
executive authority of each department being 
vested in a governor who is appointed by the presi- 
dent. The governor, in turn, appoints the mayors 
of the different municipalities, so that the political 
party which finds itself in power is assured of the 
control of practically all the administrative machin- 
ery of the republic. 

The territories and districts are governed by 
special commissioners. ‘The president of the re- 
public is elected for a term of four years by direct 
vote of the people. Bogota is the capital of the 
republic, and is situated on a high plain, 8,800 feet 
above the sea, and about 900 miles, as the journey 
is made, from the Atlantic seaboard. The popu- 
lation of Bogota is 143,950, according to the most 
reliable estimate. 

Probably the first view of the Spanish Main by 
white men was obtained by Columbus and his fel- 
low explorers in 1498 on the third voyage to the 
New World. On this occasion, the island of Trini- 
dad was sighted and the cruise then continued into 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 211 


the Gulf of Paria, from whence the great admiral 
turned the prows of his caravels toward the north; 
but not before he concluded that he had sighted 
land of continental dimensions. In a letter written 
to the Spanish sovereigns at this time, he said, 
“This land which your highnesses have sent me to 
explore is very extensive and I think there are 
many other countries in the south of which the 
world has never had any knowledge.” 

Because of the great volume of water which 
pours into the ocean through the various mouths 
of the great Orinoco River which form a delta as 
wide as is the distance from Washington to New 
York, the voyagers were confirmed in their belief 
that they had discovered a continent. Of the re- 
sult of the impact of this mighty stream on the salt 
waters of the gulf, Columbus wrote: “ In the dead 
of night, while I was on deck, I heard an awful 
roaring, that came from the south, toward the ship; 
on the top of this rolling sea came a mighty wave 
roaring with a frightful noise, and with all this 
terrific uproar were other conflicting currents, pro- 
ducing, as I have already said, a sound as of 
breakers upon rocks. To this day I have a vivid 
recollection of the dread I felt lest the ship might 
founder under the force of that mighty sea; but it 
passed by, and reached the mouth of the before 
mentioned passage, where the uproar lasted for a 
considerable time.” ‘The marvelous beauty of the 
landscape, the dense tropical vegetation, the many- 
hued birds and other abundant animal life of the 
region led them to believe that they had reached 


212 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


a terrestrial paradise and that the river had its 
source in the Garden of Eden which they con- 
jectured as situated in the hinterland. 

The entire coast line, stretching from the mouths 
of the Orinoco to Panama, together with the im- 
mense and mysterious territory that extended into 
the interior, was long afterward given the name of 
Nueva Granada, and, when a republic was set up, 
this was changed to Colombia, in honor of the great 
admiral. No immediate attempt at the time of the 
discovery was made to take possession of the region 
in the name of the Catholic kings of Spain; nor was 
any effort made to subdue the warlike aborigines. 
But in 1508, Alonso Ojeda received from the 
Spanish Government a grant of all the territory 
lying to the east of the Darien River and he at 
once set about the conquest of this region. Al- 
though he succeeded in establishing his forces in 
forts strategically located along the coast, he was 
unable to subdue the strong tribes of the interior, 
especially those who lived in the uplands and who 
formed the kingdom of the Chibchas, and it was 
left to Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, who arrived 
in 1536, to undertake the formal subjugation of this 
people, a highly civilized nation, similar to the 
Incas in Peru. The toil and daring of Quesada 
and his followers; their terrible sufferings as they 
slowly fought their way into the interior; their 
struggles against disease and famine, wild beasts 
and venomous reptiles, as well as against a wily 
and ever active enemy, are less known than are the 
exploits of Hernando Cortes, the conqueror of 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 213 


Mexico and Montezuma, or of Francisco Pizarro, 
who slew Atahualpa and took the empire of the 
Incas; yet they form one of the most stirring pages 
in the history of Spain’s conquest of its vast empire 
in America. 

Two other expeditions, one under Sebastian de 
Belaleazar, lieutenant of Francisco Pizarro, and 
the other under Nicolas Federmann, a representa- 
tive of German colonists in Venezuela, were fight- 
ing their way toward the Chibcha capital, at the 
same time, and by widely separated routes, al- 
though each of the three was entirely ignorant of 
the presence of the other in the country. ‘These 
three expeditions finally met on the high plateau, 
near Bacata, the Chibcha capital, to which Quesada 
had given the name of Santa Fé de Bogota. There 
they united their forces under the leadership of 
Quesada, and having established friendly relations 
with the Indians, the three returned down the river 
and continued their journey to Spain in order to 
give an account of their discoveries and conquests. 

A governor-general was afterward appointed by 
the Spanish crown, the name was changed to Nueva 
Granada, and the region was elevated to the rank 
of a viceroyalty in 1718. ‘Twelve viceroys succes- 
sively governed Nueva Granada until 1810, when, 
owing to a strong sentiment among the Creole 
population in favor of liberty from the Spanish 
yoke — a sentiment which had fired the people in 
all the colonies of Spain in the New World — the 
last was deposed by the citizens of Bogota. 

By this time, various revolutionary movements 


214 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





had taken on a definite form and acquired a degree 
of unity. On August 7, 1819, after a long series of 
reverses and partial victories which might have dis- 
couraged weaker men, the great Venezuelan pa- 
triot and leader, Simon Bolivar, utterly defeated 
the Royalist forces at the battle of Boyaca, and in 
the final battle of Carabobo, on June 24, 1821, de- 
stroyed the power of Spain in northern South 
America. Of Bolivar, no doubt one of the greatest 
leaders of South America, one of his ardent ad- 
mirers has written: ‘‘ Bold and fortunate as Alex- 
ander, a patriot like Hannibal, brave and clement 
like Cesar, a great captain and a profound states- 
man like Napoleon, honorable as Washington, a 
sublime poet and a versatile orator, such was 
Bolivar, who united in his own mind all the vast 
multiplicity of the elements of genius. His glory 
will shine in the heaven of history, not as a meteor 
that passes, and is lost in the bosom of space, but 
as a heavenly body, whose radiance is ever increas- 
ing.” * ‘This is perhaps extravagant praise but to 
Bolivar, more than to any other, is due the inde- 
pendence of northern South America from Spanish 
misrule. 

On June 25, the day following this battle, Bolivar 
is said to have written to one of his generals, “ Yes- 
terday a splendid victory signalized the political 
birth of the Republic of Colombia.” On December 
17, 1819, the republic, set up in the place of the 
viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, was formally in- 


1 Quoted by H. J. Morans, Up the Orinoco and Down the Mag- 
dalena, p. 304. 


Angin 
© eth le Bigot 


NPSRENCIE 

Miliddl Wake 

TEMPLO EVANGELICO 
Webster E. Br 


eons SPRESA SEMIS BAZ 


33 : tt 
—s SSS SSS Se. ae 


SVE ae? STRALY 


u ei 





DR. BROWNING AND THE POSTERS ANNOUNCING HIS ADDRESS 


AT BOGOTA 





homes etl Sey, 


SENOR DON CARLOS Ek. RESTREFO, EX-PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA, 
AND DR. W. E. BROWNING 


Before the lecture at the Government University in Medellin, 


REACHING THE INTELLECTUALS IN SoutTH AMERICA 





GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 215 


augurated and adopted the name of the Republic 
of Colombia. A year and a half later, on July 12, 
1821, a constituent Congress in session in Cucuta 
elected Bolivar as the first president and Francisco 
de Paula Santander as vice president of “ Greater 
Colombia.” This included Venezuela, and in 1822 
what was then known as the Intendencia de Quito, 
now the Republic of Ecuador, joined the union of 
Venezuela and Colombia; but on the death of Bo- 
livar, on December 17, 1830, this union was dis- 
solved. Nueva Granada, or Colombia alone, then 
adopted the title of the Republic of Nueva Gra- 
nada, on November 17, 1831, and Santander was 
elected president. Later on, the name was changed 
to the Granadine Confederation, then to the United 
States of Colombia, and, finally, to the Republic 
of Colombia which is its present title. By the terms 
of the present Constitution, which went into effect 
on August 4, 1886, the Republic of Colombia 
adopted the unitary republican form of govern- 
ment with the respective legislative, executive, and 
judicial branches. 

The formation of La Gran Colombia, by the 
union of the present Republics of Colombia, 
Ecuador, and Venezuela, is still a dream in the 
minds of many modern South American states- 
men, but with little prospect of practical realiza- 
tion. Of this proposed union a former statesman 
said, more than 100 years ago, “ United, neither 
the Empire of the Assyrians, the Medes, or the 
Persians, the Macedonian or the Roman Empire 
can ever be compared with this colossal republic; 


216 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


but neither of the three departments of Venezuela, 
Cundinamarca, or Quito [Ecuador] can in the 
course of a century become by itself alone a stable 
and respectable nation.” 'The prophecy has been, 
in great part, fulfilled, but local jealousies and 
ambitions still prevent the realization of this 
dream of Bolivar. 

It was during this evolution of civil government 
especially during the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries, in what are now the Republics of Co- 
lombia and Venezuela, that the most stirring and 
romantic pages of the history of this coast, gener- 
ally known as the Spanish Main, were being 
written. England and other Old World powers 
had become interested in the West Indies and the 
adjacent mainland. Sir John Hawkins, Sir Fran- 
cis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Baron Rodney, 
Admiral Vernon and other great English seamen, 
as well as the French admirals, De Pointis and 
Ducasse, contested the rights of Spain to this re- 
gion and endeavored to win new territory for their 
respective sovereigns. ‘These hardy seamen, who 
banded together as brethren of the coast, made 
war on Spain for religious as well as_ political 
reasons and, because of their skill and courage, 
easily took the well-laden galleons and even gained 
possession of heavily armed men-of-war whose 
crews were made to walk the plank or were other- 
wise quickly, if not humanely, despatched. They 
assisted in the destruction of the Spanish Armada 
and gave rise to that great navy which until to-day 
has made Britain mistress of the seas. 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 217 


In 1588, the Spanish Armada was destroyed and 
the way was thus opened for the English, French, 
and Dutch vessels to sail the Spanish Main with 
but little to fear from the ships of Spain. Buc- 
caneering continued for some time, and among the 
most famous buccaneers* Sir Henry Morgan 
stands out as one of the most daring and resource- 
ful seamen of the stirring times in which he lived. 
With the treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, all excuse for 
buccaneering ended, and those who continued their 
depredations on the high seas degenerated into 
mere pirates, the dregs and outcasts of a really 
great organization that gave many famous names 
to contemporaneous history. 

The slave trade was also inaugurated during this 
period and many thousands of unfortunate black 
people, caught like wild beasts in the jungles of 
Africa, were sold to the settlers, and their descend- 
ants have since given color and special race limita- 
tions to a large part of the present population. In 
the veins of members of many of the best families 
of Colombia of to-day, runs the blood of sable kings 
and of more humble captives of the Congo, and 
these families lose little or no social prestige in con- 
sequence. 

Since the foundation of the republic, the politi- 


1 Buccaneer is a name derived from the term applied to the 
French settlers of Espafiola who secured and sold the sundried beef 
and flesh of wild hogs used to provision the vessels of the sea rovers. 
This beef was dried on poles or slats, which were called, in local 
parlance, buccans. Thus, the name buccaneer which came to have a 
sinister meaning, had a very simple and innocent origin, entirely free 
from the bloody associations usually given it. 


218 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


cal life of Colombia, if compared with that of many 
of its South American neighbors, has been unevent- 
ful and but slightly prolific of revolution, inasmuch 
as the people are pacific and interested in the peace- 
ful evolution of democracy. Five such movements 
may be mentioned, during the course of over a 
hundred years of national life, although there were 
many others of scant importance, especially in the 
early years. The first, in 1840, was a militaristic 
revolution, fomented and carried into effect by the 
remnant of the military forces who had taken part 
in the war for independence, under Simon Bolivar, 
and had little effect on the life of the nation. 

In 1860, General Mosquera, who had been a 
leader of the Conservative Party, joined with the 
Liberals for personal reasons, and became one of 
the most radical opponents of the Church. The 
revolution was successful, the Church was despoiled 
of much of its property, and a strong reaction set 
in against the clerical forces in the republic, and, 
for a number of years, they were fanatically perse- 
cuted. Since this was, in great part, a personal 
war, it had no great permanent influence, except 
that it stirred up religious animosities and opened 
the way for the revolution of 1876. At this time 
the Conservative Party, excited by the clergy, re- 
belled against the exactions of the Radicals who 
were in power, but were defeated after a bloody 
campaign in which the contending forces suffered 
heavy losses. 

In 1886, by which time the extreme animosities 
of the Radicals had disappeared, and the political 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 219 





life of the country had, in its natural evolution, 
approached a more liberal interpretation of the laws 
and of the relations to be observed between the 
parties, another revolution was waged, this time on 
purely ideological grounds. The theoretical Lib- 
eralism, which had developed, tended more and 
more toward a practical and exaggerated Con- 
servatism, giving an excess of authority to the 
government, therefore the Radical elements, which 
had not taken part in this evolution, began a civil 
war which lasted for only a few months. The 
revolution was not successful, but, because of the 
authoritative Constitution adopted by the new 
Conservative government and its Radical applica- 
tion in the life of the people, the Liberal Party, 
driven to desperation, again appealed to arms in 
the revolution of 1899-1902, which was waged on 
what may be termed theological grounds — that is 
to say, between the Conservative, or Church Party, 
and the Liberal elements of the country. This 
revolution was put down, with great loss of life, 
but, meanwhile, many of the Conservative leaders 
had come to recognize the justice of the Liberals’ 
claims, and, in consequence, united with them in a 
revision of the Constitution in order that the peo- 
ple should have a national, rather than a partisan, 
charter of liberties. This is the Constitution of 
1886, which, with certain revisions made in 1909- 
1910, is still in force. According to this Consti- 
tution, both the great parties of the country must 
be represented in the National Congress in pro- 
portionate representation, so that presumably su- 


220 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





preme power at no time falls into the hands of a 
single party. 

In Colombia, as in most countries, all the great 
movements in the evolution of the people toward 
full political, religious, and economic liberty, re- 
volve around certain personalities, and four great 
names among the statesmen of Colombia stand out 
as peculiarly worthy of mention in this short out- 
line. The first is that of Simon Bolivar, who, al- 
though a Venezuelan, gave the country its sov- 
ereignty over the territory which composes it, but 
who was incapable of serving as the head of a 
democratic government and finally died in banish- 
ment in the little town of Santa Marta. It is said 
that as death approached and this military genius 
reviewed his work and the state of politics in the 
countries which he had liberated, he exclaimed, “ I 
have plowed the sea”; and, again, “ The three 
greatest buffoons in history have been Jesus Christ, 
Don Quixote, and I.” However, the nationality 
which he founded endured and it was left to Gen- 
eral Santander, one of his greatest commanders in 
the war with Spain, vice president and afterward 
president of the republic, to organize the state and 
start it on the way of progress. Cohesion, how- 
ever, was still lacking and the name of Rafael 
Niufiez stands out as that of the one statesman 
who developed this unity and contributed to 
strengthening the national spirit of the Republic 
of Colombia. 

Elected by the Liberals he gradually went over 
to the Conservatives and, retiring from office be- 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 221 


cause of age and feebleness, a number of vice 
presidents finished out his term and probably car- 
ried the reaction in favor of the Conservatives 
farther than he would have desired. 

Rafael Reyes, although compelled to flee the 
country because of his political difficulties, prob- 
ably largely because he could not fulfill lightly 
given promises to his political friends, as well as 
because of lack of real honesty in his administra- 
tion of public affairs and a disregard of the Con- 
stitutional rights of the citizens, is looked upon as 
the man who began the construction of roads and 
other improvements that are still so lacking in the 
country, and who taught the nation its need of 
industrial development. 

This outline of the development of the people 
of Colombia illustrates, in a special manner, the 
essential difference existing between the mode of 
evolution of the national life in the United States 
of America and that of the Iberian nations in this 
continent. In the colonies of Great Britain, now 
the United States, this evolution may be symbol- 
ized by the use of the plow, the pen, and the sword, 
in the order named. 'That is equivalent to saying 
that the natural resources were first organized and 
developed; then came a period of great intellectual 
activity; and, finally, because of its great indus- 
trial development, the sword of the United States 
weighs heavily in the balance of world power. 

In the Iberian colonies, the sword was the first 
appeal, and, after freedom from the mother 
country was secured, the formation of a number 


222 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





of small and warring states resulted, each of which 
desired to exercise hegemony over the others, al- 
though no one of them has developed to the point 
where it has been strong enough to attain a posi- 
tion of prominence among world powers. The pen 
next came into prominence; the writers of each 
nation sang the praises of their race and of their 
particular nation, a considerable body of literature 
being produced which ranks well in comparison 
with that of other and stronger nations. But, only 
within recent years, has any one of these twenty 
nations begun to develop its great natural re- 
sources. Consequently, Latin America has not 
exercised any special influence in the councils of 
the world, although a few, such as Brazil, Chile, 
and Argentina, have developed a national con- 
sciousness and rank high among the powers of to- 
day. It is interesting to note that the first presi- 
dent of the League of Nations was a Chilean, re- 
cently reélected to this high position by vote of the 
nations which compose the league. 

Relations between the people of the Republic of 
Colombia and the people of the United States of 
America have, on the whole, been friendly, al- 
though official relations were at one time severely 
strained by the secession of that part of the na- 
tional territory now known as the Republic of 
Panama. This Department, after a number of un- 
successful attempts, finally seceded in November, 
1903, proclaimed its independence, and set up its 
own government. Due to certain circumstances 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 228 


attending the action, official friendship of the two 
countries suffered for a number of years. A recent 
treaty, however, has been subscribed by the two 
governments, according to the principal terms of 
which the United States grants to Colombia the 
same shipping privileges in passing through the 
Panama Canal that are accorded to vessels of 
the American Merchant Marine or Navy, and the 
United States pays twenty-five million dollars in 
five equal annual installments. ‘This treaty has 
done much toward reéstablishing friendly relations 
between the governments of the two countries, and 
the American traveler in Colombia to-day receives 
assurance from all classes of society that the in- 
cident is closed and that the two peoples — who 
really took little or no part in the incident of 
Panama — are on a basis of real and enduring 
friendship. 

As will be readily understood, this fact has great 
weight in relation to missionary work carried on 
by citizens of the United States within the borders 
of the Republic of Colombia, since there is now no 
political bias against them on the part of the gov- 
ernment officials, and in Colombia, as in other 
countries of Latin America, the fact is coming to 
be recognized that Christian missions, as conducted 
by the evangelical churches, have no connection 
with politics. 

In this connection, it will be interesting to refer 
to the terms of the Constitution which, as has been 
noted, seem to grant at least a benevolent tolerance 
to religions other than that of the Roman Catholic 


224 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Church. The principal articles which refer to re- 
ligious rights and privileges are as follows: 


** ARTICLE 38 


“The Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion is that 
of the nation; the public powers shall protect it 
and shall see that it is respected as an essential 
element of the social order. 


** ARTICLE 39 


“No one shall be molested because of his re- 
ligious opinions, nor compelled by the authorities 
to profess beliefs, nor to observe practices contrary 
to his conscience. 


** ARTICLE 40 


“ The exercise of all forms of worship, which are 
not contrary to Christian morals nor to the laws, 
is permitted. All acts contrary to Christian morals 
or subversive of the public order, which may be 
committed on the occasion of or under pretext of 
the exercise of any form of worship, are subject to 
the common law. 


“ARTICLE 41] 


“Public education shall be organized and di- 
rected in accordance with the Catholic religion. 
Primary instruction supported by public funds 
shall be free, but not obligatory.” 


These laws in regard to religious liberty seem to 
grant at least a semblance of freedom to dissenters, 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 225 





and one could expect but little more from a govern- 
ment which is so thoroughly under the power of 
the Roman Church. However, the Constitution, 
which went into effect in 1886, and was the work 
of both Liberals and Conservatives, was practically 
superseded by the Concordat with the Holy See, 
especially in all matters referring to religious prac- 
tices and public instruction, which was celebrated 
the following year and went into effect in Sep- 
tember, 1888. The articles of the Concordat which 
follow are of greatest interest for our present pur- 
poses. However, they are subject to varying 
interpretations by both civil and_ ecclesiastical 
courts. 


** ARTICLE 1 


“The Roman Catholic Apostolic religion is that 
of Colombia; the public powers recognize it as an 
essential element of the social order and bind them- 
selves to protect it and cause it to be respected, as 
also its ministers, preserving for it the full enjoy- 
ment of all its rights and prerogatives. 


** ARTICLE 2 


“'The Catholic Church shall conserve its com- 
plete liberty and independence from the civil power 
and, consequently, free from all intervention on 
the part of the latter, shall be permitted to exer- 
cise freely all its spiritual authority and ecclesias- 
tical jurisdiction, conforming with its own laws in 
its government and administration. 


226 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


* ARTICLE 3 


“* Canonical legislation is independent of the civil, 
and does not form a part of it; but it shall be thor- 
oughly respected by the authorities of the republic. 


“ARTICLE 4 


“The State grants to the Church, represented 
by its legitimate hierarchical authority, true and 
proper personality before the law and capacity to 
enjoy and exercise the rights which correspond to 
tbe 

ARTICLE 7 

“The members of the secular and regular clergy 
shall not be obliged to fill public offices that are in- 
compatible with their ministry and profession, and 
they shall also be exempted from military service. 


** ARTICLE 12 


“In the universities and colleges, in the schools 
and other centers of instruction, public education 
and instruction shall be organized and directed in 
conformity with the dogmas and morals of the 
Catholic religion. Religious instruction shall be 
obligatory in such centers, and the pious practices 
of the Catholic religion shall be observed in them. 


*“ ARTICLE 13 


“ Consequently, in said centers of instruction, the 
respective diocesan authorities, by their own au- 


GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH 227 





thority or by means of special delegates, shall ex- 
ercise the right of inspection in all that refers to 
morals and religion, as also that of the revision of 
texts. The Archbishop of Bogota shail designate 
the books that are to be used as texts in the teach- 
ing of morals and religion in the universities; and, 
in order to make certain the uniformity of instruc- 
tion in the matters indicated, this prelate, in ac- 
cord with the other diocesan authorities, shall select 
the texts of the other centers of official instruction. 
The government shall prevent the propagation of 
ideas contrary to the Catholic dogma and to the 
respect and veneration due the Church, in the in- 
struction given in the literary and scientific de- 
partments, and, in general, all branches of instruc- 
tion. 


*“ ARTICLE 14 


“In case the teaching of morals and religion, 
in spite of the orders and attention of the govern- 
ment, should not conform with the Catholic doc- 
trine, the respective diocesan authority shall have 
the power to take away from the professors or in- 
structors the right to teach such matters.” 


Thus we see that although the Constitution pro- 
claims religious tolerance, if not complete liberty 
of worship, the Concordat renders this proclama- 
tion practically null and void, and arrogates to the 
dominant Church complete control in all matters 
spiritual, moral, and even intellectual. 

There is at present a strong feeling among the 


228 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Liberals in favor of annulling, or thoroughly chang- 
ing, the Concordat and, in view of the fact that the 
younger generation is overwhelmingly Liberal, 
especially the student class, it would seem that such 
action is but a matter of time. Fanaticism, even 
when backed by a strong, well-intrenched Church 
is a thing of the past and must yield to the more 
liberal movements which characterize our modern 


age. 


CHAPTER XVI 


AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE MISSION IN 
COLOMBIA 


(cure: as a nation, has always been, as 

may be judged from the foregoing pages, a 
faithful daughter of the Roman Catholic Apostolic 
Church, and is to-day one of the few countries of 
the world whose governments maintain a Con- 
cordat with the Holy See. 

The Constitution of 1886 seems to provide a 
large degree of tolerance of other religious beliefs, 
if not complete liberty of conscience and worship; 
but the hierarchy of the Church of Rome, always 
bigoted, intolerant, and fanatical, has, when pos- 
sible, swept all law aside and ruled the people with 
haughty disregard of all rights save those of Rome. 
Moreover, the Concordat, adopted the following 
year, practically takes precedence over the Con- 
stitution itself and renders null and void its some- 
what meager provision for liberty of thought and 
action. 

Colombia thus remains one of the few strong- 
holds of the spirit of obscurantism that distin- 
guished the Middle Ages, and to the protection of 
its government still flock the cowled representa- 
tives of Rome who are compelled to flee for their 
lives from more advanced countries. One such 

229 


230 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


recently declared that “ Colombia es wna isla salva- 
dora en medio de un mar embravecido,” ‘‘ Colombia 
is an island of refuge in the midst of an angry 
sea!” 

In spite of this attitude of the clergy and of a 
large part of the people of Colombia, there have 
always been those who favored more benign laws 
as regards liberty of worship and the breaking 
away from the thralldom of the Vatican, and it 
was at the request of a group of these liberal- 
minded men that the Presbyterian Board of 
Foreign Missions opened its work in Bogota. 'The 
chairman of the group that presented the request 
to our Board was Colonel James Fraser, one of 
the officers of the British Legion under the com- 
mand of the great liberator, Simon Bolivar, in the 
struggle for the freeing of Colombia from the yoke 
of Spain. He afterward married the niece of 
General Santander, another officer under Bolivar, 
for whom the Department of Santander was 
named, and his descendants, even to the present 
time, have remained faithful to their Protestant 
inheritance of a Scotch Presbyterian purity and 
strength which grows stronger in the midst of per- 
secution and opposition. 

The two Bible Societies have also entered Co- 
lombia, but the Presbyterian Board of Foreign 
Missions is the only strong missionary organiza- 
tion which has heard the Macedonian call of Colom- 
bia’s millions. One other organization, the Gospel 
Missionary Union of Kansas City, has sent a few 
missionaries to the western slopes of the Andes, 


THE MISSION IN COLOMBIA 231 


with the center of their work at Cali, in the Depart- 
ment of Valle, but it has been unable to give even 
this small number of workers the equipment and 
support necessary to the most effective carrying 
forward of their work. Consequently, the Presby- 
terian Church, through its Board, stands in a posi- 
tion of peculiar responsibility for the evangeliza- 
tion of Colombia, and it will be well to give here 
some of the outstanding facts in the history of its 
work in this republic. 

In reply to the request from the committee re- 
ferred to above, the Board sent out its first mis- 
sionary in 1856. This was Rev. H. B. Pratt, who 
reached Bogota June 20 of that year. He began 
his work among the English-speaking residents, 
but found only a few who were interested and it 
is naively remarked in a history of those early days, 
written by another, that this number grew smaller 
under his ministration. Consequently he sus- 
pended his work in English and began itinerating 
and preaching in Spanish. In 1858 he transferred 
his work to the Department of Santander and es- 
tablished a small printing press on which he pub- 
lished an evangelical paper. At this time, too, he 
began his well-known translation of the Bible into 
Spanish. In the same year the second missionary, 
Rev. Samuel M. Sharpe, arrived and began his 
work in Bogota, and a school for boys was opened 
with fifteen pupils in attendance. In 1859, Mr. 
Pratt visited the United States and published one 
of his best-known works, Noches con los Roma- 
nstas, ““ Nights with the Romanists.”’ 


232 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





In the following year, 1860, Mr. Sharpe died 
of yellow fever, contracted while at Honda, a port 
on the Magdalena River, from whence the overland 
trip was made to Bogota, where he had gone to 
meet Mr. and Mrs. Mclaren, who were arriving 
as new members of the missionary force. 

It seems, from the scant records of the time, 
that the McLarens remained but a short time in 
Colombia and that, on returning to the United 
States, Mr. McLaren became affiliated with the 
Episcopal Church and finally attained to the dig- 
nity of bishop, in Chicago. 

In 1861 the first congregation was organized in 
Bogota, with six members, all foreigners, and it 
is interesting to note that until 1885 no Colombians 
had united with the Church. 

In 1862, Rev. and Mrs. T. F. Wallace arrived 
in Bogoté. They were the parents of Rev. Wil- 
ham Wallace, D.D., who is still rendering valu- 
able service in the Mexico Mission to which his 
father and mother were transferred in 1875. One 
still meets men and women in the churches who 
remember them and their work. 

The church property in Bogota was purchased 
in 1868 for the sum of $8,000, and the new edifice 
dedicated in 1869. In this year, too, the girls’ 
school was opened in Bogota, in rented property, 
since the present building had not been secured. 

Rev. Thomas H. Candor, who has just been 
placed on the list of honorably retired missionaries, 
reached Bogotd in 1882, having come out for the 
purpose of starting a school for boys. The follow- 


THE MISSION IN COLOMBIA 233 





ing year he was married to Miss Margaret Ram- 
say, who had arrived in 1880. In 1885 they opened 
the boys’ school. 

Other missionaries had reached Bogota in pre- 
ceding years, among them Paul H. Pitkin in 
1866; Kate McFarren in 1868; Willis Weaver 
and wife in 1876; and Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell in 
1880. But at no time was the force sufficient to 
meet the necessities of the growing work, and sick- 
ness and furloughs kept the little group reduced 
to the smallest possible number. As a proof of the 
narrow margin on which the work was conducted, 
it is recorded that in 1888, Rev. J. G. Touzeau and 
wife, who had arrived but two years previously, 
were the only missionaries actually on the field in 
all Colombia. 

Considerable impression, however, had _ been 
made on the public mind and numerous friends 
had been secured for the cause, although communi- 
cant members were still few in number. Although 
the number of workers was still small it was felt 
that other cities should be entered. Consequently 
in 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Candor were asked to go to 
Barranquilla and begin work. ‘This Station has 
now come to be one of the most successful of the 
Mission, since it has our two largest and most suc- 
cessful schools and a strong congregation which is 
soon to have its own commodious place of worship. 

Dr. and Mrs. Candor, now living in the United 
States, and still helping in the work of the Mission 
in Colombia, are the first missionaries from Latin 
America to come under the new ruling of the 


234 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Manual which automatically retires missionaries 
who have given forty years of service to the field 
or who have reached the age of seventy years. 

The third Station to be opened was that in the 
Department of Antioquia. Mr. and Mrs. Tou- 
zeau had been requested by the Board to open this 
new field, and accordingly they left Bogota in 
October, 1889, and started on what was then a 
long and tiresome journey to the city of Medellin. 
On their arrival services were begun, which, at 
first, aroused much interest and some persecution. 
In 1892 three men were received into the member- 
ship of the Church, one of whom is still an active 
member. In the same year the little school, which 
had been opened on the missionaries’ arrival, closed 
its sessions with an enrollment of seventeen pupils. 
In 1893 a new property was purchased by the mis- 
sionaries at their own expense and fitted up as a 
school, which, in the course of a few years, came 
to have an enrollment of 135 pupils and was con- 
sidered the best school in the city. Itineraries 
were also made to surrounding towns and villages 
and much seed sown which is still bearing fruit. 
After eighteen years of service Mr. and Mrs. Tou- 
zeau retired from the Mission in 1907, and this 
Station was closed until 1911, when Mr. and Mrs. 
Warren were assigned to it. During the same 
year they were joined by Rev. Thomas E. Barber, 
who had just arrived on the field. Services had 
been kept up by the little congregation, which at 
once rallied round the new missionaries. The 
church was soon reorganized, and Mr. and Mrs. 


THE MISSION IN COLOMBIA 235 


Barber, the latter previously Miss Ethel I. Towle, 
who had been in charge of the girls’ school, in 
Bogota, and whom Mr. Barber married in 1912, 
have since carried on the work with evident proofs 
of God’s blessing upon it. There are now four 
organized churches in this Station; seven preach- 
ing places; four outstations; a girls’ board- 
ing school; three day schools; a boys’ boarding 
school and an industrial school have been author- 
ized; and, at the recent meeting of the Mission 
with the deputation in Barranquilla, it was voted 
to locate the theological seminary, for the instruc- 
tion of all Colombian candidates for the ministry, 
in Medellin. 

No other Station was opened until 1912, when 
Rev. and Mrs. Charles S. Williams removed to 
Bucaramanga, about 300 miles north of Bogota, 
and took up their new work in the Department of 
Santander. They labored alone and in the midst 
of unusual difficulties until 1920, when they were 
joined by Rey. and Mrs. Thomas Crocker. A fine 
property, consisting of two complete city blocks, 
has been secured on the outskirts of the city of 
Bucaramanga, and two unusually attractive and 
comfortable missionary residences have been 
erected on one of them. No church has as yet been 
organized in this Station, but in view of the evident 
interest of the community and the large attend- 
ance at the services there should soon be an abun- 
dant ingathering. 

The fifth and the last Station to be opened is 
located in the Department of Bolivar, on the At- 


236 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





lantic Coast, with its center at Cerete, on the Sinu 
River, about seventy-five miles from the coast. 
This was opened in 1913; the following year the 
old city of Cartagena was linked to this Station 
and has now been made the residence of the mis- 
sionary. 

For several years missionary work was carried 
on in the region of the Sinu by Rev. and Mrs. John 
L. Jarrett, whose expenses and salary were met by 
a Christian business man in the United States who 
had interests in this part of Colombia. ‘This work 
has now been incorporated with that of the Presby- 
terian Mission, by the formation of the new Sta- 
tion, and Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett, with their daugh- 
ter, Helen, are members of the Mission and still 
carry on the work in the region to which they have 
given so many years of devoted service. 

The Colombia Mission has been one of the neg- 
lected children of the great Presbyterian Church 
and, even to-day, after sixty-seven years of exist- 
ence, in which great good has been accomplished, 
often at the cost of health or even life, it has not re- 
ceived the recognition and support which its work 
merits and which are essential to its proper continu- 
ance. In a population of 6,300,000, it is the only 
organized Mission that is trying to bring the gospel 
in its purity to a society which is either fanatically 
Romanist or which in an intellectual protest 
against the errors of Rome, has fallen into un- 
belief and the negation of all religion. To ac- 
complish this work, the Mission has less than thirty 
workers, including wives and seven single women. 


THE MISSION IN COLOMBIA 237 





Only four men may be considered as evangelists, 
and each of these carries other responsibilities, such 
as the press, or schools. In Chile, with a popu- 
lation of 3,750,000, the Presbyterian Church has 
more missionaries than in Colombia, and other 
Boards working in that country bring the total of 
Christian workers almost up to three hundred. In 
Colombia there is only one missionary to every 
275,000, while in Chile there is one for every 
12,000. Even giant China has one Christian mis- 
sionary to every 60,000 of its population. 

In the sixty-seven years of its existence the 
Colombia Mission has ordained but two native 
Colombians to the ministry, and the total member- 
ship of its churches does not exceed 600. The 
work has been, and is, difficult, but the future is 
big with promise, if the Mission can but receive 
the needed reénforcements. 





CHAPTER XVII 
EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 


N few countries of Latin America is there such 

_ an extensive official program of education as 
one finds in Colombia; in few are the results so 
meager and disappointing. ‘The present school 
system was organized in the seventies of the last 
century and, according to the Constitution, pri- 
mary instruction is free, though not compulsory, 
for children between the ages of seven and fifteen 
years. But the dominant Church sees to it that 
no instruction is given in any grade which does 
not measure down to its own methods and submit 
to its own rigorous censorship. 

In one of the publications of the Ministry of 
Public Instruction we find the following state- 
ment: 

“Education, even that which is primary, is a 
special and proper duty of the parents; and, al- 
though the State ought, by natural right, to help 
parents carry out that duty, it has no right to in- 
terfere in the government of the family, in this 
respect, as in no other that has to do with the con- 
trol of children. In this respect all writers of moral 
philosophy are in accord. Parents are more in- 
terested than anyone else in the instruction of their 
children, as is also the Church of Jesus Christ .. . 

238 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 239 


and the repugnance which both have always shown 
toward obligatory instruction is well known.” 

In another paragraph, after referring to the fact 
that public instruction in the country is organized 
and directed in accordance with the Catholic re- 
ligion, the Minister of Instruction adds: 

“That organization and direction are due not 
only to the constitutional and legal dispositions 
which I have just cited, but very especially to the 
sentiment of the people of Colombia, whose re- 
ligious beliefs are daily strengthened in the meas- 
ure that they observe and recognize that the Church 
legislates in a wise and infallible manner; that its 
teachings purify and ennoble mankind, and that 
it is a living example of respect toward the civil au- 
thority which is an emanation of divine authority.” 

The terms of the Concordat, adopted in 1888 
and still in full vigor, provide that in the universi- 
ties, colleges, schools, and other centers of instruc- 
tion, the organization shall be effected and the 
teaching given “in conformity with the dogmas 
and morals of the Catholic religion”; that religious 
instruction shall be obligatory in all schools, and 
the pious practices of the Catholic religion ob- 
served in them. The right of inspection of all in- 
struction is also reserved to the Church, and any 
professor or teacher who is found to be lacking in 
proper zeal for the upholding of its doctrines, may 
be dismissed at any time. Textbooks for the teach- 
ing of morals and religion must be designated by 
the authorities of the Church, but other depart- 
ments are invaded and texts for all other branches 


240 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





are included. History and geography in particu- 
lar must conform to the wishes of the ecclesiastical 
inspectors, and in consequence the minds of the 
students are deliberately warped in favor of Roman 
Catholicism. In one of the texts of geography 
used in Colombia, endorsed by the ecclesiastical 
authorities is this paragraph in regard to religion: 

“ Religion is that body of beliefs which men hold 
in regard to God, and worship is the visible homage 
which we render divinity. . . . Christianity, which 
is dominant principally in Europe and America, is 
the religion founded by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
which is possessed by the most civilized peoples of 
the earth. It is divided into a Church which is the 
depository of truth, i.e., Catholicism, and two 
schisms, Greek Schism, or that of the Orient, and 
Protestantism. Catholicism, the only true religion, 
which conserves without change the dogma and dis- 
cipline and recognizes the Pope as the visible head 
of the Church, is that which has the largest number 
of adherents, 230,000,000, and has extended and 
continues to progress throughout the world... . 
Protestantism, separated from the Catholic Church 
in the sixteenth century, denies obedience to the 
Pope, and recognizes no human authority for its 
interpretation of the sacred Scripture. At the be- 
ginning it was divided into two sects, the Lutheran 
and the Zwinglian, or Calvinist, and afterwards 
into many others which are daily being converted 
to Catholicism.” * 


1 Compendio de Geografia de ka Repiblica de Colombia, by 
Angel M. Diaz Lemos, Barcelona, 1907, p. 32. 





A PRIEST OFFICIATING AT A LOTTERY IN MEDELLIN 


a 
Li ie 


ai, 





EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 241 





It is not strange that with this tremendous in- 
fluence over the minds of the young people of the 
nation while they are still in the formative period, 
the Church has been able to hold the people of 
Colombia to at least a semblance of loyalty to it- 
self; nor is it strange that, because of the weight 
of this incubus, public instruction has made but 
slight progress even during the hundred years that 
Colombia has been a republic, to say nothing of 
the preceding three hundred years when it was a 
colony of Spain. 

The following statistics, taken from the latest 
publications issued by the government, will illus- 
trate the present educational situation in Colombia, 
although, as admitted by officials and others who 
are interested in education, they are well padded, 
probably exceeding the real figures by at least 
twenty-five per cent, and do not conform with 
other statements published by official sources. 'The 
report of the Minister of Education, from which 
they are taken, states that they are “ approxi- 
mately ” true. 

In 1921, the year for which these statistics were 
compiled, there were 5,249 primary schools in 
Colombia, with 3,334 teachers and 338,792 pupils. 
These figures represent a loss of eighty-six schools, 
2,562 teachers, and 2,636 pupils as compared with 
1911, a loss which would be looked upon as a dis- 
turbing symptom in the development of public 
instruction in any country. 

In the same year there were 283 secondary 
schools, with a total of 17,407 pupils. Of these 


242 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


secondary schools only 73, with 7,305 pupils, are 
governmental; the remainder are private, gen- 
erally controlled by the Church. Forty-two of 
the total number, many of them under Roman 
Catholic orders, are authorized to grant the di- 
ploma of bachiller, which entitles the holder to 
begin his professional studies in any of the five 
universities of the country. None of our mission 
schools, although giving the same or a more exten- 
sive course of study under better trained teachers 
and superior equipment, has been able as yet, in 
view of the terms of the Concordat, to secure this 
privilege. Moreover, no one can be graduated to 
the bar, the practice of medicine, or the exercise 
of any other profession from any school, without 
the presentation of documents showing that he 
has completed the prescribed courses in reli- 
gion as taught by the representatives of the 
Roman Catholic Church in the schools of the 
republic. 

There are five universities in Colombia, with a 
total of 2,026 students; and seven industrial and 
technical institutions, with 703 students. 

The total school statistics for the republic are as 
follows: 


Primary schools .... 5,249 Pupils .... 338,792 
Secondary schools .. 283 Pupils .... 17,407 
Universities ....... 5 Students .. 2,026 
Industrial and tech- 

nical schools ..... 7 Students .. 703 





Total: et 5,544 Total ... 358,928 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 243 


If the population of the republic is 6,300,000, as 
stated in official publications, the above figures give 
one primary school to every 1,200 inhabitants, 
and one pupil to every 18; one high school to every 
77,228 inhabitants, and a high-school pupil to every 
366; one professional school to every 630,000, and 
a student in these institutions to every 3,109; and 
one industrial or technical school to every 900,000, 
with a pupil to every 9,000. 

These statistics give the number of pupils regis- 
tered in the various departments of public instruc- 
tion during the year; the number of those who at- 
tended regularly and completed a full year of 
study would not exceed seventy-five per cent of 
the total registration. Not over twenty-five per 
cent of those in attendance complete any given 
course, and in the universities this figure would be 
much less in a given year. In a recent year in the 
University of Bogota, for example, out of a total 
registration of 909, only 61 were graduated. 

There are five universities in Colombia which 
are recognized by the government authorities, each 
with certain faculties, or schools, to which it gives 
special attention. The National University, in 
Bogota, which was founded in 1572, offers instruc- 
tion in law and political sciences, medicine and 
natural sciences, engineering and mathematics; 
that of the Department of Antioquia, located in 
Medellin, in political sciences, medicine, and natu- 
ral sciences. The National School of Mines, which 
offers courses leading to degrees in civil and mining 
engineering, is also located in this city. The uni- 


244 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


versity in the Department of Cauca, in Popayan, 
has faculties in philosophy and letters, law and 
political sciences, engineering and mathematics, 
and in addition, has an agricultural school and a 
school of applied mechanics; that of Cartagena has 
a faculty of law and political sciences, and of 
medicine and natural sciences; and that of the De- 
partment of Narifo, in the city of Pasto, offers 
classes in commerce, philosophy, letters, engineer- 
ing, mathematics, law, and political sciences. 

In addition to the professional courses cited, 
each university, as a rule, includes in its general 
organization what we should designate as a pre- 
paratory department, in which the student com- 
pletes the usual grammar and high-school courses 
and receives the Bachelor’s Degree, preparatory to 
his admission to university work. In the Uni- 
versity of Antioquia, in Medellin, for example, the 
registration by courses in 1922, was as follows: 


In the preparatory departments ........ 551 
In the schools of medicine and natural 
SCICTIOOS 5. ise ach he Cie Caen ale es 154 


T6tahace eae WAL es AAG Ce ee 738 


Due to the lack of laws on the point, as well as 
to the undeveloped character of professional in- 
struction, there are many who practice as physi- 
cians, lawyers, dentists, and so forth, who have not 
received complete professional training. In the 
Department of Antioquia, one of the most ad- 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 245 


vanced departments of the republic, out of 197 
practising physicians, 99 do not have degrees; of 
274 lawyers, 64 are registered as graduates, 154 
have no degrees, and 56 are doubtful; and of 140 
dentists, only 53 are graduates. However, in spite 
of the great need for physicians and dentists, it is 
exceedingly difficult for the graduate of a foreign 
university to have his diploma recognized and be 
allowed to practice his profession. A graduate of 
the best medical school in the United States or 
Europe would be obliged to submit to a rigid ex- 
amination, given by national examiners of probably 
less preparation than himself, and would consider 
himself fortunate did he succeed in passing the final 
examination. 

As a protest against the prevailing laxity of 
discipline and mediocrity of instruction given in 
the existing universities, and particularly because 
of a desire to enable the students to escape the 
religious test which the Church of Rome now im- 
poses on all candidates for the liberal professions, 
there has recently been founded in Bogota, under 
the egis of the Liberal Party, a new university, 
known as the Universidad Libre. At the opening 
of the present year the affluence of students to this 
new institution was so great that the authorities 
were compelled to secure additional classroom 
space and finally to close the registration. The 
National University, hard by, was also compelled 
to close some of its courses, but for lack of stu- 
dents, all having gone to its recently installed rival. 

Unfortunately, however, it will mean a hard 


246 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





struggle if the new venture is to succeed. Another 
such university, with similar ends in view, known 
as the Universidad Republicana, was established 
not long ago; but, after an anemic and precarious 
existence of several years, finally closed its doors. 
The Liberal elements are opposed to the present 
system, in which the Church is a dominant influ- 
ence, but they are not strongly united among them- 
selves; moreover, they have but few altruistic men 
of wealth who are willing to give generously to- 
ward the permanent endowment of free institu- 
tions; and, as in all the world, a moneyless uni- 
versity or college cannot long keep open its doors. 
The large majority of the students of Colombia 
are of Liberal tendencies and would be glad to 
break away from the enervating influence of the 
dominant Church in matters of education. But 
the grip of Rome is strong and the Church will 
make no concessions until compelled to do so. 
When that time comes, if history repeats itself in 
Colombia as in Argentina, Uruguay, and other 
Latin-American countries, it is probable that the 
Liberals will be compelled to go farther than their 
present program demands, and that all religious 
instruction will be thrown out of the schools, with 
both the Church and State the losers thereby. 
Statistics as to analphabetism are unsatisfactory 
and generally lacking altogether. In some Depart- 
ments the percentage may fall as low as seventy- 
five per cent; in other sections, it must reach nearly 
one hundred per cent. The estimate most often 
given as approximately true, is ninety-two per 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 247 





cent, although this figure would not be borne 
out by the statistics already quoted as to the num- 
bers in school, which, as noted, are confessedly 
padded. Of the remaining eight per cent it must 
be understood, however, that many thousands 
merely escape classification as illiterates through 
being able to read, often with difficulty, and to sign 
their names. Probably not over five per cent of 
the people have the equivalent of a grammar-school 
course of studies. ‘The total number of literates in 
the country is said to be considerably less than half 
a million, and the really educated form a small and 
select group which controls the destinies of the 
country. 

Higher education in Colombia, as in other Latin- 
American countries, is favored at the expense of 
the lower grades, and the universities have pro- 
duced many really eminent scholars, especially in 
literature. But the literary atmosphere is not 
stimulating to original research, and the names of 
few Colombian scholars have transcended their 
own boundaries. An increasing number of stu- 
dents attend the technical schools and universities 
of the United States; the present president of the 
republic, Dr. Pedro Nel Ospina, is a graduate of 
the University of California, and many other 
leaders in the life of the nation have received at 
least a part of their preparation abroad. 

One gains the impression that this little coterie 
of Colombia’s best minds is usually engrossed with 
partisan politics to the exclusion of higher and 
bigger subjects; that these men are still bound by 


248 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


old traditions and allegiances, whose influence is 
too powerful to allow them to give full expression 
to their own convictions. When once they learn 
to think in world terms, to commune with the mas- 
ter minds beyond their own frontier, one may ex- 
pect many men of real genius to make their ap- 
pearance. 

The following statistics, published by the govern- 
ment, are interesting as showing the literacy of the 
male population in the principal departments of 
the republic: 


Male Number 

Department population who can read 
Cundinamarca ...... 338,477 122,500 
IBOVa Catia nant 276,551 46,486 
PLtIATITICO tee) erent 2 54,939 19,423 
RONVar Ure) ee che arte 205,080 45,418 
ALAN CET we into me 191,398 67,958 
PA TOG ULAR even tore 351,302 122,500 


Illiteracy among women would be greater, since 
boys are often sent to school when the girls are 
kept at home and allowed to mature without any 
pretense at education. In Cundinamarca, the De- 
partment in which is located Bogota, the capital of 
the republic, with a total population of 713,968, 
only 89,692 can read and 83,391 can write. 

We were able to find only one table published 
by the government regarding attendance in pri- 
mary schools, in relation to the population. ‘This 
table is for 1912, but the figures have probably 
changed but little in ten years, and are as follows: 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 249 





OY Bul Peas Legend aan einen ta. Niche 9 8.16 per 100 
PATATIOC URLS ikbocre epee sak rat TB hen 
Caldas ioe tated tes es Nd TOO an ia 
IN ArIBO ER ER a eae rer cae te bts 5:83 wyiian 
Norte de Santander ........ SOL Use me 
Pind as eee tee NETS dint ‘ 
Gaver ere ies cele Stal nivee AAT in 
Giindinaniarcoiai terior rahe oc SETAE MENT. Oe 
Maodalenamwre wa wie aul el Bit bi cma 
PT ATULIGO MURS Teal ete wietd ey ae Bee Dope 
RTPA Life fsti icy Ae) Pane OES HeTELIADA BGG, 
COLT San Wr belt Vit ath eravotne dak SOU eas, 
TS OC ACH AMMEN eee uta a Git ran i 1G ZOD Bal nis 
Ve tel bh shy NS PIA ce Vey eee nu Ch DAY Ag AD 7 lg 

ENTIMAVELACCRCIU Ay. Ringe o ts 5.02 per 100 


(Report of the Minister of Public Instruction 
to the Congress, 1912, p. 23.) 


The statistics for secondary and professional in- 
struction for 1918, in all the republic, are as fol- 
lows, by Departments: 


Pupils 9% 
PA DLIOC Ais at ar eM nt 7,798 1.06 
PATLAFILICOR bitte Actes else 852 0.73 
PRE Pee RRs oi sb ear maa ok, cs 1,789 0.43 
HO Vae cama ako acca 'e ve 1,955 0.33 
EHTEL? Gin ho eee eae ee ae 2,095 0.62 
Catica pammumeaen Uris est, 768 0.36 
CUMGIMATNATCH We oa ioe haces 8,921 1.25 
EL Si be Shae ose tay fos cs b ely 464 0.29 


250 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Pupils % 
N arinoie och ee Ree Beak 1,312 0.44 
Norte de Santander ...... 1,269 0.62 
Santanderic sss wee. eee 1,091 0.28 
"Colima ee fes8 4400 oe Oe 855 0.30 
Valle rarer ee i oe Re Bats 1,888 0.87 
Perritories:s Wt She iC Re 277 0:2 
Tbe REPUDHe 4 wie ot Cees 31,525 0.62 


(Boletin de Estadistica, 1920, Department of 
Antioquia. ) 


Very few of the buildings occupied by schools 
in Colombia have been erected for that purpose. 
Convents and monasteries have been utilized for 
some of the larger institutions, while the primary 
and secondary schools generally occupy buildings 
which have been remodeled or occupied as they 
were found, with little or no adaptation to the new 
uses. In considerable travel throughout the re- 
public, with a close study of the situation, the writer 
does not recall having seen, exclusive of our Mis- 
sion buildings, more than one real school building 
occupied by a State institution — that, the primary 
school of Medellin — and two others occupied by 
Church schools. 

In equipment, too, the schools are poorly pre- 
pared to do their work. University laboratories 
for chemistry and physics are generally quite in- 
ferior to those of our great high schools, and the 
practical knowledge gained by the student in his 
courses must be exceedingly sketchy and elemen- 
tary, although some of the teachers who have been 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 251 


trained abroad do their best to supplement this 
meager equipment by apparatus which they them- 
selves prepare. One such, a graduate of a uni- 
versity in the United States, now head professor 
and responsible for the teaching of science in one 
of the best universities, told us of his inability to 
secure even a small appropriation for his depart- 
ment, due to political differences, and, with evident 
reluctance, showed us his ill-kept, almost empty, 
laboratory. 

The foregoing facts indicate the lack of idealism 
in the present educational tendencies in Colombia, 
and show that, in spite of pretense and appearances, 
the results of both public and private effort in the 
past have been but meager in the development of 
character, the final end of all true education. One 
who contemplates the system from without seems 
to look on a beautiful painting, only to find that, 
although inclosed in an attractive frame, the pic- 
ture itself is but a caricature or, at the best, the 
work of an amateur and exceedingly sketchy. 

Fortunately there is a reaction against the pres- 
ent state of affairs, a revolt against palpably un- 
scientific methods. The Liberal Party is establish- 
ing elementary and secondary day schools in many 
centers, all of which lead up to the recently in- 
augurated Universidad Libre, of Bogota. But so 
far it is only a revolt, and there seems to be no 
great leader in the Liberal Party capable of map- 
ping out a system of education and securing the 
moral and financial codperation of influential men 
in a way that will meet the needs of to-day. More- 


252 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


over, this revolt does not lead toward God. It is, 
rather, a struggle to free the youth of the nation 
from the relentless and ruthless grip of Rome; it 
is entirely iconoclastic, with no definite moral or 
educational ideal in view. Like unskilled seamen 
endeavoring to rescue their ship from the enshroud- 
ing storm, with no skilled hand at the helm, they 
are likely to thrust it into another situation even 
more threatening. In this attempt to break with 
an obscurantist form of religion, there is dire peril 
that education, when once the pendulum is released, 
may reach to the other extreme and banish all 
religious influence from its program, declare that 
God is but a myth and that science, in its swing 
through the depths of the universe, finds no place 
for the Kingdom of Heaven. 

In this connection it may be said that the in- 
tellectual members of the community, who have 
broken with tradition, seem more utterly adrift in 
their mental processes than do those of any other 
Latin-American nation with which the writer is 
familiar. Political pessimism seems to walk hand 
in hand with philosophical anarchy, and the leaders 
with whom we conversed seemed to be completely 
without a definite orientation in philosophy. Hav- 
ing rejected the puerilities of scholasticism in the 
light of modern scientific discoveries, they have 
nothing to take its place. A few, almost fearfully, 
refer to Darwin, Haeckel, and Laplace; but their 
religious natures, the results of centuries of train- 
ing, forbid their acceptance of a crass materialism 
and they seem unable to find even a middle ground 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 253 


through the reconciliation of religion and science. 
While in other Latin-American countries one finds 
a definite trend toward agnosticism or positivism, 
which is but an “ ethical atheism,” or a reaction to- 
ward a more spiritualized philosophy, in Colombia 
there is a revolt against the past but no definite 
orientation for the future. Even in Peru, in uni- 
versity circles, where scholasticism formerly domi- 
nated but was succeeded by the influence of materi- 
alistic writers, there is now a decided trend toward 
a more spiritualized interpretation, while Emile 
Etienne Boutroux and Henri Bergson, especially 
the latter, have done much to change the currents 
of thought and to establish a new school. Some of 
our own writers — Emerson, William James, Jo- 
siah Royce, and Francis Bowen — have had a con- 
siderable following and have established more or 
less definite currents of thought. Without any 
doubt these writers are known to the advanced 
thinkers among the university men of Colombia; 
but they seem to have made no definite impact on 
the Colombians’ philosophical convictions, and the 
whole situation, if not static, is at the best transi- 
tional, so that a few bold thinkers might change the 
trend of thought of the whole people. Of course 
back of all this is the autocracy of the Church which 
has placed on the “Index Librorum Prohibito- 
rum” all writers who in any degree vary from its 
established doctrines; the faithful are not permitted 
to read such philosophers as Kant, Descartes, Spi- 
noza, Comte, and John Stuart Mill, and it is prob- 
ably due to this throttling of interest in philoso- 


254 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


phical studies that our most modern thinkers are 
as yet unknown. 

Bertrand Russell, the neorealist, Bradley, the 
idealist, W. EK. Hocking, one of the best-known 
living American philosophers, and Hugo Miinster- 
berg, the psychologist, while probably not in the 
“Index,” seem to be quite unknown. In no way 
have their writings affected the philosophical situ- 
ation in Colombia. 

As one views this slipping of the cables that bind 
these men to the intellectuality and religious teach- 
ing of the past, notes the absence of a chart for 
future excursions into the realms of thought, and 
the steady lowering of the storm clouds of agnos- 
ticism and atheism, he can but cry out in the words 
attributed to one not an adherent of Christian faith, 
words tragic and thrilling because of their time- 
liness: 

“ Jesus Christ, come back! the tones of your 
voice have not yet died away. In spite of false 
creeds and wizard priests, through craft and rant, 
the heart of our age still turns to you. ‘Touch the 
sorcery of our time and wake us from the vile en- 
chantment of fear and foolish hate. Come! De- 
liver us from the doom of dead things. Bring life 
from the grave where faith lies bound. Jesus 
Christ, come back! Bring dreams and let dreams 
come true. Bring love that knits all hearts into 
one.” * 

It is almost superfluous to say that, in view of 
this situation, the moment is psychological for the 

1 The Reconstruction of Religion, by Charles A. Ellwood. 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 255 


educational work of our Mission. Seldom has a 
more splendid opportunity been presented to a 
group of evangelical teachers to show that science 
is not in opposition to religion and that our 
methods, based on a religious concept, are scien- 
tific as opposed to those now in vogue, which are 
both loose and unscientific. 

Our Mission, struggling against great odds, has 
established a number of schools which have reached 
many people throughout the republic, and with but 
one communicant Church member to every 10,500 
of the population, we now have about one pupil in 
these schools to every 6,300 inhabitants. These 
schools have been poorly equipped, poorly housed, 
and inadequately staffed; yet their influence has 
been out of all proportion to the efforts and funds 
expended. 

The two outstanding institutions are those of 
Barranquilla, one of which is for girls and the 
other for boys. ‘The former has had for thirty 
years the efficient and consecrated service of Miss 
Martha B. Hunter, and for ten years, her efficient 
leadership; the other owes its all to the constant 
and meticulous care of Rev. and Mrs. Walter 
Scott Lee during almost a quarter of a century, or 
practically since its beginning. About a year ago 
when, for reasons of health, Mr. Lee was obliged 
to seek a colder climate and was transferred to 
Bogota, Dr. and Mrs. W. E. Vanderbilt, formerly 
of our Mission in Mexico, were placed in charge. 
Plans are now before the Mission and Board 
for enlarging the work and assuring the future 


256 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


of these schools. An option has been secured 
on a splendid site of about ten acres in a beau- 
tiful suburb of the city for the future develop- 
ment of the boys’ school, and the same action should 
be taken as soon as possible in planning for the 
future of the girls’ school. Meanwhile, because 
of unsanitary conditions in their own property, the 
women in charge of the girls’ school have been com- 
pelled, after securing the consent of the Board, to 
rent a building and grounds and transfer the school 
from the site occupied for so many years. ‘The 
school year of 1923 opened early in February, with 
unusual promise for both these schools, and with 
every probability that the number of students in 
each will exceed 350 before the close of the year. 
The registration of the girls’ school, on the first day 
of the school year of 1922, stood at 123; this year, 
largely because of its new and attractive surround- 
ings, it stood at 235. The registration in the middle 
of the second month of the academic year was 297 
for the girls and 299 for the boys. 

The history of the two similar schools in Bogota, 
where we should have early developed and gen- 
erously maintained our strongest institutions, has 
not been so encouraging. Because of the great 
influence of the dominant Church and the somewhat 
conservative character of the aristocracy, which 
centers in the capital, the task of establishing 
Protestant school work in Bogoté has been much 
more difficult than in the more liberal centers along 
the coast where foreign influence is stronger. But, 
after all concessions have been made for the in- 


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EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 257 





herent difficulties of the field, it must be confessed 
that neither the Mission nor the Board has consid- 
ered this work seriously and come to its support 
in the degree necessary to its fullest success. 'The 
Mission, on the one hand, has had no definite edu- 
cational program, at least until within the last few 
years; and the Board has supplied neither the equip- 
ment nor the workers necessary to make the schools 
a success. Emerson’s declaration that “ an institu- 
tion is but the projected shadow of an individual” 
is more true in Latin America than in any other 
country. Every evangelical institution in_ this 
great field, that is a success, is the direct result of 
the uninterrupted labor of some consecrated and 
efficient man or woman who has given it his or her 
very heart’s blood for twenty or more years. The 
schools of Barranquilla attest this fact. 

In Bogota there has been little continuity of 
service and consequently no definite pedagogical 
objective. ‘The boys’ school has had eleven differ- 
ent principals within the past ten years, a fact suf- 
ficient in itself to explain any lack of results. Men 
and women have been placed in charge while learn- 
ing the language, or, in addition to other already 
heavy responsibilities; they have taken up the 
burden laid down by some one else, merely to tide 
over until another could be secured, and have done 
their very best to make the school a success. But 
scrap work cannot spell efficiency in the manage- 
ment of an educational institution, and the influ- 
ence exercised by this school on the large commu- 
nity that centers in the capital of the republic nas 


258 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


been comparatively slight. Mr. and Mrs. Lee are 
now in charge and look forward to many years of 
usefulness in this new post. But they cannot be 
expected to do here, at their present age, what 
they did during the years given to Barranquilla, 
and provision should be made for an adequate 
faculty, including three Americans, one of whom 
should underbuild Mr. Lee and be ready to carry 
on when the time comes for him to go on fur- 
lough or to retire from the responsibility of the 
principalship. ‘The present property will not long 
be adequate for a growing school, and steps should 
be taken to secure a site farther out, with ade- 
quate playgrounds and other equipment. Mean- 
while, the yearly budget of the Mission should 
carry a sum sufficient to make the present quarters 
more attractive and to provide the equipment and 
the native teachers necessary to give this school 
high rank among the educational institutions of the 
city. 

The girls’ school is conducted in an old building 
in the center of the city, which was once a convent 
and is still surrounded on two sides by the walls of 
the church to which it formerly belonged, so that 
from certain vantage points tonsured, priests may 
still look down upon our teachers and students. 
The situation is not suitable for a girls’ school; the 
building is archaic and inconvenient for educational 
purposes, and the entrance, by a narrow, dark 
hallway, flanked by the church wall on one side and 
a printing shop on the other, is not an encouraging 
introduction to the really pleasing and promising 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 259 


work within. ‘This school, too, has suffered from 
frequent changes of administration and the lack of 
a definite objective; yet it continues to attract a 
considerable number of pupils and now, under the 
direction of Miss Retta McMillin, is being re- 
organized and gives promise of greater useful- 
ness in the future. In this case, also, plans should 
be made to sell the present property, which, because 
of its central location, is valuable, and to transfer 
the school to the suburbs of the city. This might 
possibly be done in connection with the boys’ school; 
but the schools should be located at some distance 
from one another. In the suburb of Chapinero are 
located some beautiful lots which can now be se- 
cured at reasonable figures. 

In addition to these four schools, two in Barran- 
quilla and two in Bogota, offering both primary and 
secondary courses, there are a number of primary 
schools in the other stations, which, in time, should 
be developed in the same degree. In Medellin, the 
school has been handicapped by having to occupy 
a room in the same building used for the church 
and the residences of the missionaries, and has reg- 
istered but few pupils, practically all of whom have 
come from families connected with the church. 
Plans have been made and endorsed for establish- 
ing in this Station two boarding schools, one for 
boys and one for girls, and the theological seminary 
of the Mission is also to be located in Medellin. 
Tentative steps have been taken toward the acqui- 
sition of a considerable block of land suitable for 
the use of these three institutions, in the suburb 


260 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


“ America,” which is beautifully located overlook- 
ing the city, and this community, in time, should de- 
velop into one of the most important educational 
centers of our Mission. 'The climate of the Depart- 
ment of Antioquia, of which Medellin is the capital, 
as well as the character of its people, favors the 
development of this kind of work to a degree not 
to be found in other Departments of the republic, 
and both Mission and Board will do well to further 
this program of schools. 

The statistics of our schools in Colombia, given 
on the last page of this chapter, will be of interest, 
if only to show how little we have put into educa- 
tion in Colombia in the almost seventy years since 
our Mission began its work in this republic. The 
figures as to attendance and budget are taken from 
the reports of 1922, and in some cases, if not in all, 
will be considerably surpassed during the present 
year of 1923. ‘The school year in Colombia begins 
in February and ends in November, so that the 
complete statistics for 1923 are not yet available. 
The number of pupils, however, will go well beyond 
1,000, if it has not already done so. In the column 
marked “ Budget,” the total income for the past 
year is set down. Some of the schools gave free 
instruction, or collected so little that the amount 
was not reported, and the space is left blank. Out- 
side of salaries for missionaries, the Board gave 
$300 to one of the schools, and this school, like the 
others, now plans to become self-supporting in the 
present year. But why expect self-support from 
the schools in Latin America? We do not expect it 


EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA 261 





in other mission fields; why should Latin America 
be the exception? 

For the past four years the schools in general 
have followed the program of studies as outlined by 
the government for the State schools, with varia- 
tions made necessary by our special aim. The gov- 
ernment elementary school offers, in general, a 
course of six years, and the secondary, a course of 
six years more. The State and certain Church 
schools confer the bachelor’s degree at the termi- 
nation of the secondary course. 

Our criticism of the school work in Colombia, 
especially of the schools in Bogota, is that they 
have been run on an entirely inadequate financial 
budget to the extent that the financial problem has 
been allowed, unconsciously, to overshadow and 
dwarf the real problem of all our educational effort, 
which is the building up of Christian character 
both in the individual and in the community; the 
functioning of the school in society as a center of 
enlightening and liberalizing truth; and the devel- 
opment of strong, well-prepared national workers. 
Only two native Colombians have ever been or- 
dained to the ministry — this within the last four 
years — and neither of them is a product of the 
schools. The girls’ schools have done better, inas- 
much as a number of capable young women have 
become teachers in our schools and others; but the 
net result of all these years of labor is disappoint- 
ingly small. The time has now come for a change, 
and we believe that the opportunity will not be lost. 
If the Mission will ask generously for the support 


262 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





of these schools so that they may outrank in equip- 
ment and personnel, the best in the country, and if 
the Church and Americans of means will respond 
with equal generosity, our institutions ought to 
wield a mighty influence in the coming years when 
the soul of this splendid people is trying to free 
itself from the shackles of the past and stand out 
in the God-given freedom of this new age. If 
Colombia is ever to be evangelized and lifted up 
to its rightful place in the ranks of the nations, 
it will be by burning words issuing from the hearts 
and falling from the lips of Colombians. For- 
elgners must decrease, even as the national workers 
increase; and our schools must be the laboratory in 
which these workers are to be trained for this 
service. 
SraTistics OF Our ScHooLs 


{ Total (Board: Mission-| Value Subsidy 
Location| School Grade ee Chit ary of Budget from 
Pupils) ers Teachers | Property Board 
Bogota Boys’ Elementary 98 5 2 $40,000 |$2,101.71/$300.00 
Secondary 
Girls’ |Elementary} 90 2 42,000 | 3,981.29 
Secondary 
Barran- 
quilla Boys’ Elementary} 266 | 43 4 75,000 |16,418.56 
Secondary 
Girls’ Elementary| 215 17 3 20,000 |11,614.00 
Secondary 


Medellin} Mixed |Elementary| 25 


Bucara- 
manga Mixed |Elementary} 22 


i 


Sinu Wilches |Elementary} 60 1 
San Carlos/Elementary| 90 
Cartagena|Elementary| 50 


-— | | | S| ON NL | LT 


Total = 9 916 | 65 13 $177,000 |$34,115.56/$300.00 





CHAPTER XVIII 
FROM COLOMBIA TO VENEZUELA 


On Boarp S.S. VeNEzueE.aA, near La Guaira 
March 24, 1923 


EKNEZUELA forms the northernmost por- 
tion of the South American continent. It 
lies just to the east of Colombia and, like Colombia, 
borders the Caribbean Sea. From Puerto Colom- 
bia, the chief port of Colombia, to La Guaira, 
the principal port of Venezuela, is a distance of 
600 miles; the trip by boat, including two stops 
en route, usually consumes five days. 

We started on this journey, on the evening of 
March 19, when we sailed for Puerto Colombia on 
the steamship Venezuela, of the Koninklyke West 
Indisch Maildienst, that is to say, The Royal Neth- 
erlands West India Mail. 

This steamship line maintains a service between 
Amsterdam and Panama, with calls at German, 
French, British, and South American ports, and 
at the Dutch West Indies. The boats are not large, 
being about 6,000 tons gross register, but we were 
impressed at once by their cleanliness and air of 
efficiency, and by the solidity and wholesomeness 
and the self-respecting carriage of their officers and 
crew. Such qualities were in great contrast with 
the lax and unkempt conditions of life and work 
in the land we had just left. The sign Verboten 

263 


264 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


was visible in many places; in the care and control 
of the boat and passengers, the half-German, half- 
British spirit of the Hollander was continually evi- 
dent. There was no stateroom available for us 
beyond Curacao. <A ship’s officer kindly arranged 
with us to occupy his cabin on the upper deck back 
of the bridge; from this point of vantage, we were 
interested spectators of the direction of the ship 
and of its course during the last two days of the 
trip. 

The Caribbean coast of South America has not 
an enviable reputation for fair weather. Espe- 
cially in the winter months do the trade winds 
trouble the waters so that smooth voyages are 
rare. March is perhaps the worst month, at the 
time of the spring equinox, when the winds are 
changing before the coming rainy season in April. 
On his fourth trip in 1502, Columbus sailed along 
this coast, and wrote that on this journey his vessels 
were “enshrouded in black clouds,” so that for 
“eighty days he saw neither sun nor stars,’ and 
that he believed they must “have reached the in- 
fernal regions, from which there might be no es- 
cape.” We did not meet exactly these conditions, 
but our experiences en route were not entirely 
peaceful. 

On the afternoon of the twentieth, we passed 
on the south the precipitous peninsula of Goajira, 
half-Colombian, half-Venezuelan territory, which 
encircles on the west the bay opening into the in- 
land waters of Lake Maracaibo; on the morning of 
the twenty-first we sighted on the north the rugged, 


FROM COLOMBIA TO VENEZUELA 265 





brown island of Curacao. This island is the largest 
of six islands which make up the Dutch West 
Indies, the “leeward” group lying about sixty 
miles north of the Venezuelan coast, in a line drawn 
south from Haiti, and the “ windward ” group be- 
ing situated about 500 miles to the east and north. 
The history of these islands has been quite event- 
ful. In 1499, Curacao was discovered by Alonso 
Ojeda, a former companion of Columbus, who took 
possession of it in the name of Spain; in 1528, Cu- 
racao and two adjoining islands were given by 
Charles V to the governor of Venezuela. Six years 
later, in 1534, Curacao was captured by the Dutch, 
and under Peter Stuyvesant, became a center of 
the slave trade for the Spanish colonies. The 
French attacked the island in 1673, in 1713, and in 
1800, the first time unsuccessfully, but on the other 
two occasions securing ransom and tribute. The 
British helped the Dutch to drive out the French 
immediately after the third attack in 1800, but 
took over control of the island until 1802, when by 
the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, it was restored 
to the Dutch. In 1804, and 1805, the British them- 
selves attacked Curacao, capturing it on the second 
attempt, but ten years later, in 1815, by the pro- 
visions of the Treaty of Paris, it was finally trans- 
ferred to Holland, which has held it ever since. 
The total population of the Dutch West Indies 
is about 55,000, more than half of whom live in 
Curacao. A large majority of the island inhabi- 
tants are Negroes. The coast line of Curacao re- 
sembles somewhat that of Japan, and there are the 


266 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


same rocky promontories and wind-stunted trees 
and vegetation. About nine o’clock we saw the 
town of Willemstad, a splash of vivid color against 
a dull brown background. The town looks like a 
vividly tinted village of Holland which has been 
dropped down in these tropical waters. The 
closely packed two- and three-story houses have 
steep sloping, red-tiled roofs, with dormer windows 
and ridge poles outlined in white, with yellow, blue, 
and red walls. The Negro inhabitants speak a 
jargon called “ Papiamento,’ a mixture of Span- 
ish, Portuguese, and Dutch. Less than 3,000 of 
the total population of 35,000 of the island of Cu- 
racao are white, but the Dutch colonizers have so 
impressed their spirit upon the city of Willemstad 
that its streets are clean and well-kept and its 
buildings possess the spotlessness and order for 
which Holland is so well known. 

A stately old fort guards the main entrance to 
the inner harbor; a pontoon bridge spans this chan- 
nel; it swung open for our ship to pass, and we 
stayed in port in the inner harbor, one of the best 
harbors in the Caribbean region, until the evening 
of the twenty-second. This town is an important 
center for the transshipment of oil which is brought 
from Maracaibo in Venezuela, and the Royal Dutch 
Shell group and the Standard Oil Company have 
refineries and fuel stations there. In Willemstad 
there are 1500 Protestants and 800 Jews. There 
is an attractive building in use by the Dutch Re- 
formed Church, and a Hebrew synagogue, in ad- 
dition to the usual Catholic edifices. The local 


FROM COLOMBIA TO VENEZUELA 267 


Protestants, under the leadership of Dr. G. F. Ky- 
bers, are desirous of doing more work among the 
native inhabitants of the island; they have bought 
a plot of land and have subscribed a sum of money 
to help in the construction of a chapel and in the 
initiation of this service. They would welcome co- 
operation with some missionary society in the ex- 
pansion of this work, and there is an undoubted 
opportunity and need for this united service. 

On the evening of the twenty-second we sailed 
southward for the Venezuelan port of Puerto Ca- 
bello, which we sighted early the next morning. 
The port has a well-sheltered harbor encircled by 
wooded mountain slopes, and derives its name from 
the assertion that, because of the fine harbor, ships 
“could be anchored there by a hair.”” The entrance 
to the bay is guarded by an old fortress which is the 
scene of one of Richard Harding Davis’ stories, in 
his book, White Mice. The fort serves now as a 
military prison for political offenders; it is mounted 
with modern guns, and we saw two Venezuelan 
gunboats riding at anchor near by. On the wharf 
as we came into the inner harbor, we saw, tethered 
to a walking stick, one of the curious, slow-moving 
animals, half raccoon, half brown bear, called a 
sloth, which the natives name perezoso, “ the lazy 
fellow.” He seemed typical of this country and of 
the one which we had just left. Then over the roof 
of the storehouse on the wharf, as our boat drew 
into the pier, we saw rise a beautiful bronze eagle, 
with widespread wings, that topped a shaft of stone 
in the patio on the other side of the building. Later 


268 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


we inspected this monument. It had been erected 
in 1896, on the Fourth of July, by the Venezuelan 
Government, “as a mark of national gratitude, in 
memory of the North American citizens, [ giving 
the names of six colonels and lieutenant colonels 
and two captains] who as comrades of General 
Francisco Miranda offered their lives in the battle 
for the independence of Venezuela on July 21, 
1806.” On the northern side of the monument, at 
its base, were cut in bronze relief, the seals of Vene- 
zuela and the United States, with the two national 
watchwords side by side, “ H Pluribus Unum,’ and 
“ Dios y Federacion.” ‘The eagle and the sloth, 
liberty and aspiration rising above and in spite of 
lassitude and an enervating environment and inheri- 
tance! These were our first impressions of Vene- 
zuela. But there is more of the eagle and less of 
the sloth in Venezuela than in Colombia, as we 
learned even in these first brief hours ashore. 
Puerto Cabello is a town of about 15,000 inhabi- 
tants and ranks second to La Guaira in imports and 
exports. Protestant Christianity is represented 
there by five missionaries of the Christian Missions 
in Many Lands, who have built a church and who 
maintain a school. We called on them, and on the 
American Consul, Mr. Garrity, and that evening 
sailed for La Guaira about fifty miles to the east. 
That night, for the first time in two weeks, the 
ocean was comparatively smooth. As we steamed 
out of the harbor, the sun was nearing the horizon; 
its rays, refracted through the smoke clouds from 
our steamer, tinged the ocean a deep scarlet, as 


FROM COLOMBIA TO VENEZUELA 269 





if the waters had been dyed by the sanguinary 
deeds of Rafael Sabatini’s Captain Blood. 

The night comes quickly in the tropics, with no 
lingering twilight as in lands farther north: 


“The sun’s rim dips, the stars rush out: 
At one stride comes the dark.” 


A new moon rose and cast its silver light over the 
rolling waters of the Caribbean. The night was 
clear, and the heavens were filled with stars. The 
lights in the port which we had just left twinkled 
in the blackness beneath the mountain ramparts 
and as we drew farther away, they too seemed 
like a cluster of stars reflecting the light of the 
myriad host above them. 

We were awake at daybreak and watched with 
interest our entrance into the picturesque bay of 
La Guaira. A great cliff rose before us in the first 
light of the rising sun like an elongated Gibraltar 
towering above the diminutive houses of the port. 
Charles Kingsley in Westward Ho! has repro- 
duced the atmosphere of the entrance to this bay: 

“So Westward Ho they ran, beneath the mighty 
northern wall, the highest cliff on earth, some seven 
thousand feet of rock parted from the sea by a 
narrow strip of green lowland. Here and there a 
patch of sugar cane, or a knot of cocoanut trees, 
close to the water’s edge, reminded them that they 
were in the tropics; but above, all was savage, 
rough, and bare as an Alpine precipice. Some- 
times deep clefts allowed the southern sun to pour 
a blaze of light down to the sea’s marge, and gave 


270 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





glimpses far above of strange and stately trees 
lining the glens, and of a vale of perpetual mist 
which shrouded the inner summits, while up and 
down, between them and the mountain side, white 
fleecy clouds hung motionless in the burning air, 
increasing the impression of vastness and of solemn 
rest which was already overpowering.” 

Five hundred feet up the face of the cliff to the 
eastward of the town, were a fortress and a resi- 
dence, that might well have been the governor’s 
house, where, according to Kingsley’s narrative, 
“The Rose of Devon ” was once confined. Beyond 
that mighty wall of rock nine miles from La Guaira 
in an air line, and twenty-two miles by the winding 
railroad and highway, lay Caracas, the capital of 
the country, the city where the single station of our 
Venezuelan Mission is located, and the place where 
our southward journey was to end. 


CHAPTER XIX 
VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 


Royat NETHERLANDS West Inp1a Matt, 
On S.S. Van RENssELAER, 
April 2, 1923 


rP\HE United States of Venezuela lie in the 

northernmost part of South America. They 
are bounded on the west by the Republic of Co- 
lombia, on the south by the United States of 
Brazil, on the east by Brazil and British Guiana, 
and on the north by the Caribbean Sea. 

The area of this little-known country is given by 
the Bureau of Statistics at Caracas as 393,976 
square miles. It thus ranks third in size among 
the countries on the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf 
of Mexico, since among them it is exceeded in size 
only by Mexico and Colombia. This area will be 
better understood by the American reader when it 
is stated that it is just about equal to the combined 
areas of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois. 

Venezuela is one of the most sparsely settled 
countries of Latin America. With a total popula- 
tion of 2,411,952, according to the official census 
of the republic for 1920, it has but 6.1 inhabitants 

271 


272 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


per square mile. The natural resources are great 
and the country could easily sustain a dense 
population in comparative comfort; but its inacces- 
sibility, the wildness of the interior, the frequent 
political upheavals, and the difficulties of com- 
munication have kept out immigration, and the 
conditions of life in this republic, except in a few 
cities and towns, are still exceedingly primitive. 

In 1919, there were 12,433 immigrants, and 12,- 
879 emigrants, a loss of 446 for the year. ‘The total 
increase in population for the same year was 
20,590, or less than one per cent. 

The annual death rate in some of the cities and 
towns is very high, ranging from 39.3 in Caracas; 
41.5 in Maracaibo; 47.6 in Puerto Cabello, to 137.7 
in Cartpano, per thousand. This last figure must 
be one of the highest in the world, but is vouched 
for by the Commercial Handbook issued by the 
United States Government in 1922. 

The population of the republic in 1918, according 
to the official census, was 2,844,618. In 1920 it 
had fallen to 2,411,952. This somewhat discon- 
certing loss may be real, but is more probably due 
to faulty statistics. In the same period, the num- 
ber of Indians increased from 325,000 to 500,000 
——an increase which would seem to indicate that 
statistics in Venezuela are largely a matter of guess- 
work. In 1912, of the total births reported to the 
Civil Register, 23,937 were legitimate and 51,955 
illegitimate. This does not represent the real per- 
centage of illegitimacy, since the greater number 
of births are not reported, especially from the small 


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VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 273 


towns and country districts. No definite figure can 
be given on this point, but a recent papal delegate 
was quoted as having put the number of illegiti- 
mates in the country at eighty-four per cent of the 
population. 

Of the 75,312 mothers in 1912, 51,580 are classi- 
fied as unmarried and 310 as widows. Of the 
24,264 fathers, 486 were unmarried, 23,732 mar- 
ried, and 46 widowers. Of 68,849 mothers in an- 
other year for which we found statistics, only 16,356 
could read and write, and 58,362 of the fathers 
were illiterate. Only 21,510 of these mothers were 
married women, and of this number, 331 were 
widows. 

The surface of the country is divided into three 
distinct zones: the hot lands lying along the sea; 
the cooler zone immediately inland among the foot- 
hills of the mountain ranges of the interior; and 
still more elevated forest regions finally merging 
into the immense llanos, or plains, which extend 
to the frontiers of Colombia, Brazil, and British 
Guiana, and, in general, constitute the region 
drained by the Orinoco River. The mountainous 
section is formed by three ranges, two of which are 
ramifications of the Andes in the north and north- 
west, while the third occupies the extreme eastern 
and southern sections of the republic. . 

The principal river, and one of the greatest rivers 
in the world, is the Orinoco, which drains the north- 
eastern part of the continent and empties into the 
Caribbean Sea. Its only rivals in South America 
are the Amazon, the Magdalena, and the Rio de la 


274 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Plata, all of which form systems which are 
accounted among the greatest of the world. 

The agricultural zone is that which lies near the 
coast, and it is rich in the production of coffee, 
cacao, sugar cane, cotton, corn, tobacco, wheat and 
other cereals, potatoes, and the ordinary products 
suited to the climate. It is in this zone also, in the 
northwestern section of the country near Lake 
Maracaibo, that oil has been recently struck in 
what seems to be almost fabulous quantities. 
Telegraphic reports in March, 1923, gave to one 
well an initial production of 120,000 barrels a day, 
which would make it the largest in the world. This 
well has continued to produce from 75,000 to 100,- 
000 barrels a day, and facts given out by the Royal 
Dutch Shell Company, as well as reports from 
others who live in the region, indicate that oil has 
been found in great quantities and that the district 
promises to become one of the greatest centers of 
the oil industry which are now known. 

The slopes of the mountains and the valleys 
along the rivers are covered with dense forests 
which contribute India rubber, vanilla, tonga beans, 
mahogany, and many other fine woods, dye stuffs, 
and material for tanning; and the mines yield gold, 
copper, iron, and coal; while the llanos, in the far 
interior, are renowned for their enormous herds of 
cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. Pearls of a good 
grade are found along the Caribbean coast, and 
there are a number of lakes in the interior from 
which asphalt is taken, one of them with an area of 
a thousand acres. This asphalt is of a good quality, 


VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 275 





and it is interesting to know that a special variety 
found in Venezuela is used in the tunnels in New 
York as a protection against moisture. Cattle- 
raising is now being stimulated by establishing 
refrigerating plants at various points. One is 
located at Puerto Cabello on the Caribbean, and 
another on the Orinoco, from both of which the 
meat is exported to foreign countries. 

The total foreign commerce of Venezuela in 
1918 amounted to a little over $36,000,000. 

For administrative purposes, the country is 
divided into twenty states, two territories, and a 
Federal District. In this division of the territory 
of the republic, the organization of the United 
States of America has been closely followed, since 
each state is autonomous and all are equal as polit- 
ical entities; the governors of the territories are 
appointed by the president of the republic; the 
states are divided into districts, which correspond 
to our counties; each state has its own congress, 
which legislates on all matters which have not been 
referred to the federal government; and the capital, 
Caracas, is situated in the Federal District, set 
apart for this purpose, which has an area of 745 
square miles. The largest cities are Caracas, with 
a population of 92,212; Maracaibo, 46,706; Valen- 
cia, 29,466; Barquisimeto, 23,943; Ciudad Bolivar, 
19,712.* 

The coasts of Venezuela were first sighted by 
Kuropeans on August 1, 1498, when Christopher 
Colombus and his fellow voyagers were completing 

1 Census of 1920. 


276 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 





the third voyage to the new world. Carried by the 
equatorial current from the almost windless waters 
which lie east of the northern part of South 
America, to which they had sailed in their search 
for new territories, the little fleet continued its 
cruise to the mouths of the Orinoco. Bewildered 
at finding this great flood of fresh water which 
poured down from the mysterious hinterland of the 
continent, the admiral and his companions finally 
decided that the earth must be pear-shaped, that 
they were then near the stem end, that the river 
poured down thence, and that if they could but 
ascend the stream they would soon come to the 
Garden of Eden. 

Continuing its voyage toward the west, the fleet 
finally entered an arm of the Caribbean Sea known 
as the Gulf of Paria, and found its borders fringed 
with huts built over the water. These rude habita- 
tions sheltered the members of a tribe of Indians 
who had dwelt in this region from time immemo- 
rial, and had been built over the water as a means 
of protection against other warlike tribes, as also 
against the depredations of venomous reptiles and 
wild beasts of the surrounding tropical jungle. 
Canoes carved from the trunks of trees, no doubt 
the lineal ascendants of the thousands of such 
which are employed to-day on the rivers and 
lagoons of South America, were used by these 
Indians in their fishing expeditions in the still 
waters of the lake and in their visits from hut to 
hut. Columbus, without landing, but having seen 
the inhabitants on the shore as they went about 


VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 277 


their occupations, reéntered the Caribbean from the 
Gulf of Paria, and continued his journey to His- 
paniola, now Santo Domingo, “ giving thanks to 
God who delivered him from so many troubles and 
dangers, still showing him new countries full of 
peaceful people and great wealth.” 

He was followed by Alonso Ojeda in 1499, who 
sailed even farther to the westward and entered 
Lake Maracaibo, where he, also, found the Indians 
dwelling in huts built on piles. This voyage is 
particularly noteworthy because on the ship with 
Ojeda journeyed Amerigo Vespucci, who was to 
have his name given to one third of the land 
of the globe because he wrote a clever account of 
the expedition and thus secured honors which 
should have gone to another. 

Among those who journeyed with the early ex- 
plorers of this coast — whether with Ojeda or later 
expeditions, we cannot be sure — were Italian sail- 
ors who were quick to note the similarity between 
this somewhat amphibious mode of existence and 
the scenes which they had known in their beloved 
Venezia. The name Venezuela, “ Little Venice,” 
was quickly passed from mouth to mouth, was 
recognized as altogether appropriate, and immedi- 
ately became the term which designated the region 
in and about the lake. This name is that which still 
distinguishes the modern republic, although its 
territory now includes not only that which lies 
around Lake Maracaibo, but also extends into the 
far interior, even south to the headwaters of the 
Amazon. 


278 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


The early discoverers and settlers who followed 
after Columbus found that in this region there 
were at that time at least 150 different tribes of 
Indians, who spoke eleven distinct languages, di- 
vided into as many dialects as there were tribes. 
Chief in influence among them, if not in number, 
seem to have been the fierce Caribs, whose race is 
considered by some ethnologists to have had close 
relation to, if it did not actually form a part of, the 
great Guarani nation to the south, which in past 
ages is supposed to have occupied all that vast re- 
gion embraced in the eastern and northeastern part 
of the continent, but which is now practically lim- 
ited to the few thousand semicivilized dwellers in 
the plains and forests of Paraguay. The very word 
“ Carib” is of Guarani origin, and from it we have 
derived the name of the sea to the north of the im- 
mense territory once held by this warlike but now 
almost extinct people. This remnant constitutes 
a most difficult missionary problem. 

In this connection it should be said that from 
325,000 to about half a million Indians still inhabit 
Venezuela. A few thousands are found in the 
peninsula of La Goajira, in the northwest corner 
of the republic, but the large majority live along 
the upper reaches of the Orinoco and its tributaries 
and still successfully resist all attempts at subju- 
gation. The blowpipe with its deadly poisoned 
arrows is still their favorite weapon, as it seems to 
have been for untold ages; their mode of life is as 
primitive and as savage as it was before the coming 
of the Europeans to the Western Hemisphere; and 


VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 279 


there are but few white men who have dared to risk 
their lives among them. 

The Spaniards met with stubborn resistance 
when they attempted to form settlements along the 
coast of the Caribbean, and the history of this 
region during the first half of the sixteenth cen- 
tury is a succession of fierce and bloody battles 
waged with the Indian tribes. However, Spain 
gradually tightened her hold on all the territory 
lying along the coast from the Orinoco River to 
what is now known as the Isthmus of Panama. 
The name of Nueva Granada was given to this 
region and it was ruled by colonial presidents 
appointed by the Spanish crown from 1564 to 
1718. In this last year the viceroyalty of Nueva 
Granada was set up and included all the vast terri- 
tory which is now embraced in the modern Repub- 
lics of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. 
Meanwhile, Spain was being harassed by foes from 
without, especially by the British, French, and 
Dutch buccaneers and was having great difficulty 
at the same time not only in maintaining discipline 
among the Spanish troops in the interior but also 
in keeping the conquered tribes of Indians in sub- 
jection. 

Due to the triumph of the revolution of the 
English colonies in North America, and spurred to 
action by the unexpected successes of Bonaparte 
in Europe, especially his dethronement of the 
Spanish monarch which brought the American 
colonies of Spain under the control of a French 
king, a movement began among the Creole popula- 


280 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


tion whose aim was the liberation of these lands 
from Spanish rule and the establishing of republics 
patterned, in great part, after that but recently set 
up in North America. 

The first move for the independence of Nueva 
Granada was made in 1797, and was put down with 
all the ferocity which marked the period. In 1810, 
there was another uprising of the Creole popula- 
tion, and the Spanish governor was deposed. A 
Constitutional Congress was called, held its first 
meeting in 1811, and on July 5 of that same year, 
declared the independence of the United Provinces 
of Venezuela. 

In 1813, the greatest military genius that Latin 
America has produced—unless José de San 
Martin, his great fellow general and military rival 
in the wars of independence be considered his peer 
— Simon Bolivar, took command of the revo- 
lutionary forces, and, on August 7, 1819, at the 
Battle of Boyaca, in what is now the territory of 
the Republic of Colombia, broke the power of 
Spanish rule in northern South America. In a 
final battle at Carabobo in 1821, which took place 
in the heights of the modern state of the same 
name, he put an end to Spanish rule on the con- 
tinent. 

In the reorganization of the territory after the 
power of Spain had been broken, Venezuela be- 
came a part of the newly organized Republic of 
Colombia, over which Bolivar was elected to rule. 
But, upon the disruption of that nation, Venezuela 
declared its secession and its own absolute inde- 


NOISSIN VIGOZANGA AHL AO SYAGNNOA SANOd °‘S °L “SHUW AGNV ‘Ud ALWI AHL 





- 





VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 281 


pendence. This was in 1830. In 1859, a reorga- 
nization was effected and a Federal Republic was 
set up, which exists to-day under the same name, 
although the present Constitution dates only from 
1914. 

The history of this republic has been tempes- 
tuous and, although a republic in name, it has been 
for a great part of its existence under the iron hand 
of military dictators. 

Very seldom in the past has the history of Vene- 
zuela touched that of our own country in any 
intimate manner. ‘I'wo of these occasions may be 
noted. In 1895, a dispute which had been brewing 
for more than sixty years between Great Britain 
and Venezuela, over the question of the boundary 
line of the last-named country and British Guiana, 
came to its culminating point. President Grover 
Cleveland, who had been appealed to by the gov- 
ernment of Venezuela for help, sent a message of 
protest to the Court of St. James, couched in his 
usual blunt and energetic language, and a thrill 
went through the two English-speaking nations 
when it was realized that war between them was 
imminent. His rather startling declaration was 
to the effect that he proposed to appoint a com- 
mission to inquire into and report on the merits of 
the case, and added: 

“When such report is made and accepted it will, 
in my opinion, be the duty of the United States to 
resist, by every means in its power, as a willful ag- 
gression upon its rights and interests, the appro- 
priation by Great Britain of any lands, or the exer- 


282 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


cise of governmental jurisdiction over any terri- 
tory, which, after investigation, we have determined 
of right belongs to Venezuela.” 

This was compulsory arbitration, with the arbi- 
trators named without the consent of one of the 
parties to the quarrel. Great Britain, however, 
remained calm through it all, as her diplomats have 
a way of doing, and finally agreed with Venezuela 
to submit the matter to arbitration; the decision 
was rendered in Paris in 1899 and the incident was 
closed. 

In 1902, claims against Venezuela were pre- 
sented by Germany, Great Britain, and Italy for 
losses suffered by their citizens in the various revo- 
lutions, and the manner of their presentation, 
which was a blockade of the ports of the country, 
raised a serious international question concerning 
the extent to which force might be applied in the 
collecting of accounts from a debtor state. A 
blockade was established by these powers, and Ger- 
many was particularly insistent on its right to col- 
lect by force. Once again the United States, 
through its energetic president, Theodore Roose- 
velt, interfered, invoking the terms of the Monroe 
Doctrine as the basis of this interference. In this 
case a conflict between Germany and the United 
States seemed inevitable, but the cool persistence 
of President Roosevelt caused the Kaiser to recon- 
sider his somewhat hasty action. One good result 
of this incident was the pronouncement of what is 
now known, in International Law, as the Drago 
Doctrine, so named for the Argentine diplomat 


VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 283 


who proposed it, which abolished the right of 
armed intervention or the occupation of foreign 
territory in the collection of debts. 

Since 1908, the virtual ruler of Venezuela has 
been General Juan Vicente Gomez, and although 
he is entitled “ constitutional president,” he is, in 
fact, a dictator and rules as such. His government 
maintains a strict control over the press, and a 
rigid censorship is enforced. As a consequence of 
these methods, political parties have been prac- 
tically done away with, or there remains but one, 
that which favors the present government. One 
of the prominent men of Caracas once said to the 
writer: “ There is no opposition to the government 
in Venezuela. All of those who might form an 
opposing party are in one of three places: the 
cemetery, the military prison, or a foreign 
country.” 

It would seem that the tenure of power by the 
family of President Gomez is assured for some 
time to come, inasmuch as he himself is com- 
mander in chief of the army; a son is first vice 
president and governor of the Federal District; a 
brother is second vice president and inspector gen- 
eral of the army; and a cousin is president of one 
of the states. As president of the republic, Gomez 
appoints the presidents of the various states and 
the governors of the territories. He also names the 
senators and deputies to the national congress, and 
these men, on the basis of the supposed reports 
from the elections, choose the president. 

As an illustration of how matters are arranged 


284 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


beforehand, we were told that several days pre- 
ceding the last federal election, in 1922, workmen 
erected numerous electric signs in the city, espe- 
cially on the front of the Yellow House, which 
corresponds to the White House in Washington, 
on the palace of justice, and in the principal square. 
They were kept veiled until the night after the 
election and were then found to be announcements 
of the unanimous reélection of the president by 
vote of the sovereign people of Venezuela. 

Under the caption, “The Unanimous Vote of 
the Nation: Triumph of the Will of the People,” 
the principal daily paper of the city, on the day 
following the election, commented: 

“The National Congress, in a faithful inter- 
pretation of the sovereign will of the people of 
Venezuela, elected yesterday, by unanimous accla- 
mation, to control the destinies of the country 
during the constitutional period of 1922-1929, 
General Juan Vicente Gomez, whose illustrious 
personality typifies, both in the minds of our own 
people and abroad, the security of public peace, the 
expression of administrative order, the multiple ef- 
fort on behalf of the prosperity of the country, the 
decorum of the army, and the constant effort to 
bring about a realization of the noble ideals which 
make certain our national greatness. 

“This patriotic acclamation on the part of the 
congress was duplicated by an even more enthusi- 
astic response on the part of the people of Caracas, 
represented in the vicinity of the capitol by more 
than 5,000 citizens, who, regardless of their polit- 


VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 285 


ical connections, carry on their daily occupations 
in various branches of activity... . 

“ All Venezuela is with Gomez, because it knows 
that only by the help of his strong spirit and his 
austere republicanism can it expect to carry for- 
ward that process of civilizing evolution which has 
been begun in the republic during this long and 
fruitful period of peace. 

“All the necessary patriotic virtues meet in 
General Gomez, in order that the different organ- 
izations may rally around him and the country gaze 
on the refulgent prestige of his political and ad- 
ministrative action. ... As a brave man and a 
patriot he gave a character of pure democracy to 
the revolution of December, and consecrated his 
efforts at once to doing away with the disorder 
which had taken possession of the different 
branches of the government, to saving the vital 
interests of the republic from bankruptcy, and to 
giving back to the nation that august majesty 
which adorned it in the early days of the national 
emancipation. ... ‘Thus we have seen him, now 
as president of the republic, now as the leader and 
inspirer of the doctrines of national rehabilitation, 
untiring, serene, just, carrying forward his work of 
renovation in all the branches of the national life.” * 

With the Spanish explorers and conquerors came 
the representatives of the Church of Rome, and 
right well did they do their part in the subjugation 
of the Indian tribes and in abetting the endeavors 


of the king of Spain to maintain his bloody rule in 
1 Hl Universal, May 4, 1922. 


286 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


these hard-won lands. The Church was practically 
supreme in Venezuela, and was the court of last 
appeal in all matters of State, until the coming 
into power of General Guzman Blanco. In 1873 
this dictator expelled the Jesuits and the monks 
and nuns who had established themselves in the 
country, and confiscated their property. One of 
the vacated church buildings, a magnificent edifice, 
was offered to the Protestants of the city; but there 
was then no organization to accept the offer, which 
was afterward withdrawn. All parish schools were 
ordered abolished; civil marriage was instituted; 
the cemeteries were opened to the dead of all faiths; 
and priests were deprived of their power as well as 
of their fees. 

In 1876, the papal nuncio and the archbishop 
were expelled, because the latter had refused to 
order a T'e Dewm sung in the cathedral in honor of 
some of the dictator’s victories. It was on this 
occasion that General Guzman Blanco sent his 
famous message to the congress, which not only 
produced the local effect he desired, but also awak- 
ened the minds of public men in other South 
American lands to the possibility of freeing the 
State from the incubus of a medieval ecclesiasti- 
cism, which was always at war with their ambitions 
for liberty and seeking its own aggrandizement. 

The message ran as follows and was, of course, 
equivalent to a demand. 

‘“T have taken upon myself the responsibility of 
declaring the Church of Venezuela independent of 
the Roman Episcopate, and ask that you further 


VENEZUELA, LITTLE VENICE 287 


order that parish priests be elected by the people, 
the bishops by the rectors of the parishes, and the 
archbishop by congress, thus returning to the uses 
of the primitive Church which was founded by 
Jesus Christ and his apostles. 

“ Such a law will not only solve the eternal ques- 
tion, but will be, besides, a great example for the 
Christian Church of republican America, hindered 
in her march toward liberty, order, and progress, 
by the policy, always retrograde, of the Roman 
Church, and the civilized world will see in this act 
the most characteristic and palpable sign of ad- 
vance in the regeneration of Venezuela.” 

It is needless to say that an affirmative reply 
from the congress was immediately sent to the 
dictator, and, as representing the mode of pro- 
cedure under such conditions, merits reproduction. 
It was as follows: 

“ Faithful to our duties, faithful to our convic- 
tions, and faithful to the holy dogmas of the religion 
of Jesus Christ, the great Being who conserved the 
world’s freedom with His blood, we do not hesitate 
to emancipate the Church of Venezuela from that 
Episcopacy which pretends, as an infallible and 
omnipotent power, to absorb from Rome the vi- 
tality of a free people, the beliefs of our conscience, 
and the noble aspirations and destinies which per- 
tain to us as component parts of the great human 
family.” 

Although shorn of its political power by Guz- 
man Blanco, true to its history the Church has 
patiently waited its opportunity, and has at length 


288 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


succeeded in winning back many of the prerogatives 
it formerly had. But it has not regained its spirit- 
ual power and life. One of the thinking men whom 
we met, said: “ The Church has no power in Vene- 
zuela, political, moral, or spiritual. It is degen- 
erate, and we have no use for it and no confidence 
in it. We have no religion.” 

At the same time it continues to receive a subsidy 
from the government as the State Church, as some 
one explained, in order that it may be kept under 
the government, and the people are held in igno- 
rance of the Bible and its teachings. 'The Virgin is 
exalted in an unusual degree and takes precedence 
over the Son in the images and paintings of the 
churches. One great painting in one of the 
churches, in which all the figures are life-size, repre- 
sents her as being crowned by the Father and 
the Son. A white dove is suspended above her 
head as she sits on her throne; the Father on her 
right and the Son on her left, are in the act of 
placing a crown on her head, while angels look on 
in rapt adoration and acclaim her the “ Queen of 
Heaven.” This painting, because of a reference 
made to it by Dr. Pond in a sermon, has now been 
inclosed in such a way that only those who are 
known to be faithful Catholics may see it. Another 
that represented her in the attire and attitude of a 
French ballet dancer has also been removed, for 
the same reason. But such teaching has had its 
effect on the people of Venezuela, whose thinking 
men and women reject the only form of Christianity 
they have ever known. 


CHAPTER XX 


AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE MISSION 
IN VENEZUELA 


On S.S. Van RENSSELAER, 


Royat NetHertanps West Inpia Matt, 
April 8, 1923 


] T was in the midst of a society that was thor- 

oughly inimical to the Church of Rome, yet by 
force of tradition and teaching unfriendly toward 
and exceedingly suspicious of Protestantism, that 
the foundations of evangelical work were laid in 
Venezuela. 

The American Bible Society seems to have been 
the first organization to reach the field.. Some time 
in the early eighties, Bishop Patterson, of the 
Southern Methodist Church, was sent out to 
establish this Society in Caracas, but soon died of 
the yellow fever. A Mr. Norwood took up his 
work, and, about the same time some of the Chris- 
tian Brethren of England entered the field. A few 
independents were also preaching, but their work 
has disappeared. 

The first organized Mission Board of the United 
States to send its representatives to Venezuela was 
the Presbyterian Board. Representing this Board, 
Rey. Theodore S. Pond and Mrs. Pond were, in 
1897, transferred from the Colombia Mission to 

289 


290 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


open a tentative work in Caracas. Many years 
of missionary experience in Mesopotamia and 
Syria, as well as five years in Colombia where they 
had learned the Spanish language, were a valuable 
equipment for the opening of work in this new 
field. ‘They found the country unoccupied by any 
Mission, though evangelical services were held by 
an agent of the American Bible Society, while for 
two months Signor Ferrando, formerly a Capuchin 
monk, had held Bible classes in his own house. ‘The 
scattered members of a disbanded Church organiza- 
tion, once under the Methodist Board (South), 
warmly welcomed the new missionaries who imme- 
diately began work and laid deep and broad 
foundations on which it should be possible to build 
a strong evangelical Church in the United States 
of Venezuela. Possessed of that culture without 
which no one may expect to reach the heart or gain 
the respect of the Latin American, they made a 
large place for themselves in the capital city and 
were instrumental in securing reforms and in- 
fluencing the life of the city to a degree which few 
outside the Mission even suspected. 

Dr. and Mrs. Pond retired from the field in 
1921, and Mrs. Pond soon afterwards went to her 
reward. Dr. Pond still lives in the United States 
and maintains his deep interest in the Mission.* 

Although Venezuela was practically unoccupied 
by evangelical forces when the representatives of 
Presbyterianism entered in 1897, other bodies of 
Christian workers have since entered from time to 

1 Dr. Pond died September 22, 1923. 


THE MISSION IN VENEZUELA 291 


time, until there are now fourteen organizations in 
all at work in the republic, in addition to a number 
of independent workers who have gathered small 
groups about them. 

The following statistics, compiled by our mis- 
sionaries, will show the extent to which the country 
has been occupied and the number of workers. In 
all the republic, there are 93 foreign missionaries, 
with 50 national workers who give their full time. 
A number of nationals also give part time, but are 
not included in the statistics above. Of the 23 
states which form the United States of Venezuela, 
12 have been occupied by both foreigners and 
nationals, and the latter are at work in 2 others. 
In the 22 organized churches there are 775 com- 
municant members, of which total 125 were added 
in the year 1922. In all the country, there is an 
average of 25,437 inhabitants for every Protestant 
worker. Six cities of over 10,000, eleven of from 
5,000 to 10,000, and one hundred of from 1,000 to 
5,000 are as yet unoccupied, and it is estimated that 
1,000,000 people live in the unoccupied territory, 
and that 2,000,000, in all, are without the privileges 
of the gospel. 

The 24 Sunday schools have a membership of 
864 pupils, and there are 5 Societies for Young 
People with a membership of 200. ‘The 16 schools 
enroll 329 pupils. The work done in these schools 
is elementary, for the most part, and but one has a 
boarding department. 

In Caracas, the capital of the republic, there are 
19 foreign workers, 13 of whom are engaged in 


292 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


evangelistic work, 5 in schools and 1 in industrial 
work. In the same city there are 21 national 
workers; 20 preaching points; 6 organized churches 
with 301 members; 5 church buildings; 6 Sunday 
schools with 381 scholars, and 5 schools with 86 
pupils. 

There are five evangelical periodicals published 
in Venezuela by four of the organizations at work, 
only one of which has a paid subscription list and 
a wide circulation. In all the republic, only two 
centers are occupied by more than one Mission, 
which fact shows a commendable distribution of 
the forces. ‘The principal organizations have an 
understanding that they will not occupy the same 
towns, or the same general territory, which insures 
a freedom from overlapping in the future. 

During our stay in Caracas, a Conference on 
Christian Work, organized by the Regional Com- 
mittee on Cooperation, was held and was attended 
by representatives of six different organizations 
who, in some cases, came to the capital for this par- 
ticular purpose. ‘Two were obliged to make long 
journeys by sea, one from Maracaibo and the other 
from the Orinoco River Mission which has its head- 
quarters in Carupano, and others came by train or 
on mule back from points in the interior. 

This was the first gathering of the kind ever 
held in Venezuela and in the opinion of the mis- 
sionaries will mean much for their future work, 
since coming to know each other will make it less 
difficult to work together without friction or mis- 
interpretation of motives. 


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THE MISSION IN VENEZUELA 293 


At the close of the two days’ session of the con- 
ference, a strong Regional Committee, with proper 
officers, was organized and this group will now 
carry on the work of promoting cooperation. For 
the first time, it may be said, Christian workers in 
Venezuela have come to realize that they have a 
common mission, a common responsibility, a com- 
mon opportunity, and a common Lord. 


CHAPTER XXI 
EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA 


T is no easy task to write even a short descrip- 
tion of education in the United States of Vene- 
zuela. No doubt a good deal is being done by the 
present government to foment this important 
branch of public service, but it is difficult to secure 
any great amount of definite and exact information 
on the subject. The Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion presents an annual report to the National 
Congress, published in an attractively bound, well- 
illustrated volume of almost a thousand pages, and 
freely given to those who may request it. There 
are abundant references to the progress made in 
education during the year; eulogy of the Citizen 
Constitutional President because of his great in- 
terest in this department of his government, as 
shown by his generous sympathy and loyal sup- 
port of all things educational; the different com- 
munications between the heads of the various 
departments which are written in impeccable Castil- 
ian, each ending with the never to be omitted phrase, 
“God and Federation!’’ But there is a conscien- 
tious omission of all data that might enable the 
reader to discover the actual state of education in 
the republic. Reliable statistics are generally 
lacking and the information one secures must be 
gathered together from many sources and is often 
at complete variance as to facts and figures. 
204 


EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA 295 


As to the amount of illiteracy in the country, 
missionaries and other foreign residents give esti- 
mates that vary from 60 to 95 per cent of the popu- 
lation. The general average would center around 
90 per cent. The official census of the government 
for 1920, not yet published but which may be con- 
sulted by special permission, places the figure at 
80 per cent. Other publications in South America, 
outside of Venezuela, claim that it is 95 per cent. 
The enormity of even the most optimistic estimate 
becomes apparent when compared with the official 
figures of other countries: Germany, .2 per cent; 
Denmark, .2 per cent; Scotland, 1.6 per cent; Eng- 
land, 1.8 per cent; France, 4.9 per cent; and 6 
per cent in the United States, the last apparently 
high figure being due to immigrants, and to the 
unusual illiteracy in the Black Belt of the South.’ 

In any case, the percentage is very high and 
there is but a small group of educated men, many 
of whom have studied abroad, who really repre- 
sent the intellectual element of the country. In 
the cities there is a considerable degree of organiza- 
tion and it is possible that schools exist in suffi- 
cient number for those who may wish to attend. 
But in the interior, facilities are lacking and the 
proportion of illiteracy steadily increases as one 
goes out from the capital, until among the Indians 
one finds that there is absolutely no provision made 
for instruction. In the territory of the delta of the 
Orinoco, which has an extension of 40,000 square 
miles, there are but two municipal schools. 


1 La Nueva Democracia, New York, January, 1923. 


296 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Primary instruction by the Constitution is both 
free and compulsory, between the ages of seven 
and fourteen, but the second provision, as is the 
case in other Latin-American countries, could not 
be enforced even if the authorities cared to do so, 
because of the lack of teachers and schoolhouses. 

As to school buildings, it is claimed that, with 
one exception, Venezuela has never erected a 
building for the purposes of instruction. The 
exception is the Military Academy, the West 
Point of Venezuela, a magnificent building which 
stands on a hill over against the city of Caracas, 
where officers are trained for the Army without 
whose help no president could long remain in 
power. All other schools and institutions related 
to public instruction occupy buildings which, in 
some cases, have been remodeled and thus made 
‘to serve the new purpose; but modern school edi- 
fices, erected for the purpose, are lacking. For 
example, the University of Caracas, which was 
founded in 1775, occupies an old convent which 
was remodeled and partially rebuilt for the pur- 
pose under the direction of one of the revolu- 
tionary presidents. In a laudable desire to stimu- 
late instruction, this and many other buildings be- 
longing to the Church were confiscated, and were 
turned over to the State for public uses. 

The elementary course of study comprises six 
grades, on the termination of which the pupil may 
enter the secondary school. Instruction in this 
course is also free but is not compulsory. In 
theory, at least, it comprises four years of general 


EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA 297 


studies, followed by two more of professional pre- 
paratory work. On terminating the twelve years, 
the pupil receives his. bachelor’s degree and may 
enter any one of the professional faculties of the 
university. 

The most favorable statistics available in regard 
to the general educational situation in Venezuela 
state that there are in the republic: 140 elementary 
schools with 48,869 pupils; 102 secondary schools 
with 2,189 pupils; and 31 institutions for higher 
learning, including 2 universities, 1 school of engi- 
neering, 6 seminaries of philosophy and theology, 8 
schools of fine arts, and 14 schools of arts and 
crafts. No provision is made for the education of 
women in the universities, and but few girls go be- 
yond the elementary schools. ‘There are a few 
church schools where girls may study music and 
other cultural branches, but they are not en- 
couraged to enter the liberal professions. 

The Annual Budget of the republic for all 
branches of education in 1919, so far as can be 
determined from the report of the ministry, was 
less than $2,000,000, American gold, or less than 
one fourth the annual budget of Columbia Uni- 
versity. Of this amount, about $400,000 was used 
in the primary schools, and on secondary instruc- 
tion only $56,000 was spent in the year given. This 
means that over $1,500,000 was spent in this one 
year on what is designated as “ higher and special 
instruction,” which centers in the capital and caters 
to families of the upper, or moneyed class. ‘This 
higher instruction includes the two universities, 


298 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


with the sciences, medicine, pharmacy, and politi- 
cal science; the National Academy of History; the 
School of Engineers; the National Library; 
National Museums; Astronomical Observatory; 
three meteorological stations; the School of Music 
and Declamation; the School of Plastic Arts, and 
kindred institutions. 

In the same year, the Ministry of War and 
Marine spent in the maintenance of the services 
under its control just over $6,000,000, or treble 
the amount spent on the entire educational system 
of the country. 

There are a number of private schools, especially 
in the capital, where general courses are offered, 
including the secondary studies. 'These schools are 
generally under some one of the teaching orders 
of the Roman Catholic Church and, very naturally, 
endeavor to turn the pupils toward the tenets 
peculiar to this Church. We heard of one good 
school for girls, in Caracas; which is patronized by 
some of the Protestant families, and it was stated 
that this particular institution, under French nuns, 
does not endeavor to proselytize pupils who are 
not Catholics. 

The contribution made by the evangelical Mis- 
sions to the solution of the problems of education 
in Venezuela has, as yet, been but slight. In the 
16 mission schools with 329 pupils, we have gone 
but little beyond the elementary grades and the 
tendency has been to favor the children of the 
church’s constituency, rather than to present a 
program which would attract the community as a 


EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA 299 


whole. In some eases, instruction for children be- 
longing to families of the church has been com- 
pletely free, and has, accordingly, been less appre- 
ciated than it would have been had some slight fee 
been insisted on as a prerequisite for registration 
and attendance. 

The educational work of the Presbyterian Mis- 
sion is limited to two schools in Caracas. One, a 
coeducational elementary day school with about 
twenty children enrolled, is taught by the wife of 
one of the national pastors, and is conducted in the 
house which is occupied by this family as a resi- 
dence and which also serves as the chapel in which 
preaching services and Sunday school are held. 
The attendance is almost exclusively from families 
connected with the chapel. 

The other is a girls’ school which now occupies 
the large central building formerly used as a resi- 
dence for the three missionary families and young 
women teachers. There is a boarding department, 
with four girls in residence, and the total regis- 
tration for the year has not exceeded thirty girls. 
This school, with the boarding department, has 
been in operation only one year, so that it may be 
considered that a satisfactory beginning has been 
made toward the development of what should 
prove to be a helpful center of Christian education. 
There are three young ladies, members of the 
Mission, who are assigned to this school, although 
the frequency of furloughs and the language study 
necessary for new missionaries really reduce the 
number to two in active service at any one time. 


300 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Two other women teachers, members of the local 
church but natives of Colombia, also give full 
time to this school, and other local teachers are 
employed for special classes. 

In the plans adopted in the Conference on Chris- 
tian Work in Venezuela, the Presbyterian Mission 
designated as its field the Federal District and a 
part of two adjoining states that lie along the 
Caribbean Sea to the east of Caracas. This means 
assuming a special responsibility for the educa- 
tional work in the capital, and the missionaries 
have already made their plans for the extension 
and intensification of their present programs, 
within the next five years. 

The girls’ school should leave the present build- 
ing, which might be used as a day school and a 
center for publication work, and move into larger 
quarters with space for recreation grounds, as well 
as for more commodious buildings. ‘The estimated 
cost of the new property is $75,000 and two more 
women missionaries are requested as_ teachers. 
This equipment is placed first on the list of prop- 
erties desired in the next five years. 

A school for boys is necessary to the Mission, 
but has not yet been started. It stands second in 
the list of new properties, and $50,000 is asked for 
the purchase of land and the erection of buildings. 
Two men teachers are also placed in the list of 
new workers desired in the next five years. 

Theological instruction has been given to a num- 
ber of young men in past years by the members of 
the Mission, and some center of this kind of in- 


EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA 301 | 


struction will have to be maintained in Caracas, 
particularly for older men who may never reach a 
point in their studies which will permit their ordi- 
nation to the full work of the ministry. 'The Mis- 
sion has voted, however, to send its most promising 
young men to the Union Theological Seminary in 
Porto Rico, thus relieving its own missionaries 
from the necessity of giving such a large amount of 
time to theological instruction and securing, at the 
same time, a good course of study for its candidates 
at a cost not exceeding the present expenses in 
Caracas. 

The Presbyterian Mission in Venezuela has, for 
special reasons, an unusual responsibility and a 
great opportunity for the carrying forward of this 
program of Christian education. In this land 
where, as one of the leading writers told us, “ there 
has never been a single teacher whose name is 
worthy of being perpetuated as such,” a very few 
men and women with pedagogical gifts not even 
approximating those of Mark Hopkins, could so 
overturn and renovate and reform the present 
school methods as to create a new kind of revolution 
in Venezuela —a revolution whose end would be 
the elevation and enthronement of Christian charac- 
ter rather than that of any one individual. 

Moreover, among the dozen or more groups of 
evangelical workers in the country, only the Pres- 
byterians are in a position to prosecute just this 
kind of work. The others are more distinctly evan- 
gelistic and are disposed, on the whole, to limit their 
efforts to evangelism or, if school work is under- 


802 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


taken, to the education of the children of their ad- 
herents. The inauguration and carrying forward 
of an inclusive program of Christian educa- 
tion is the exclusive responsibility of the Presby- 
terian Mission. The Church at home, by providing 
the necessary funds and stimulating young men and 
women to devote their lives to this special work, 
can be of inestimable service to Venezuela in the 
years to come. ‘The writer knows of no other of 
our Missions in all Latin America which occupies 
such a peculiarly responsible position in regard to 
the future educational program of an entire re- 
public, or a country where invested funds and life 
ought to give such ready and fruitful returns. 

The need of educational effort, on the part of the 
evangelical Missions, was admirably expressed a 
quarter of a century ago by one who visited the 
country and afterward wrote his impressions in a 
widely read book. The writer was not a missionary, 
but in his study of social and intellectual conditions 
in Venezuela, he found the real cause of the 
country’s backwardness and very frankly pointed 
out what might be the remedy. He wrote in words 
that might have been written to-day, so fully do 
they express the exact situation: 

“The public men of the country are ready to en- 
courage and sustain Protestantism, not from any 
religious convictions of their own, but because they 
see the retarding influence of the Catholic Church 
in the development of the country. The priests 
from the beginning have stood in the way of prog- 
ress, have opposed modern innovations, and have 


EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA 303 


been particularly antagonistic to the educational 
system. The tendency of the schools and of the 
educated men of the country has been toward 
materialism for the last twenty years. Nearly 
every one of the professors in the university is an 
agnostic, or at least a materialist, and their influ- 
ence is great. The men of the country, except the 
peasants, do not attend church, except upon special 
occasions, and, while they assent to it, many do not 
believe in the Catholic faith. 

“The immorality of the priests and their ques- 
tionable practices will not permit an intelligent man 
to do so; but the common people, the masses, are in- 
tensely religious and superstitious. Whatever may 
be the policy of the government toward the Vati- 
can, nothing can shake them from the faith in which 
they were born, or impair the reverence for the 
often dissolute and nearly always ignorant priests 
of their parishes. 

“ Therefore, the work of Protestant missionaries 
must necessarily be among the educated classes, 
among the men who reason. There is in Caracas a 
most inviting field for clergymen of education and 
intellectual force, who can speak the Spanish lan- 
guage, and the same conditions exist throughout 
the country. 

“Tt is a wonder to me that the missionary organ- 
izations in the United States do not occupy this 
field. A dozen churches might be organized in 
Venezuela at once, and in a few years every one 
of them would be self-sustaining.” * 


1 Venezuela, William Elery Curtis, p. 212. 


CHAPTER XXII 
CARACAS 


On S.S. Van RENSSELAER, 
Roya, NETHERLANDS West Inp1a Malt, 
April 4, 1923 


F from a literary standpoint, Bogota, the capital 

of Colombia, deserves the title of the “ Athens 

of South America,” from the topographical angle, 

at least, Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, might be 
called the “Rome” of this southern continent. 

Like Rome, Caracas is built upon seven hills, 
and the mountainous character of its site and sur- 
roundings at once impresses the visitor who sees 
the city for the first time. 

The city is situated on the inner slope of a great 
cliff and mountain wall which rise 5000 feet and 
more out of the sea. A saddle-shaped peak of this 
range just north of the city, called La Silla de 
Caracas, reaches 8600 feet in altitude. The rail- 
road and highway which climb the steep ascent 
from La Guaira to Caracas cross through a pass 
at an elevation of 3400 feet and then drop down to 
the city level of 3036 feet. The city is hidden 
by its mountain rampart from the sea, but a three 
hours’ climb from the capital brings one to the 
crest of the rocky wall, and La Guaira and the 
beach and the Caribbean lie almost in a perpendicu- 
lar line below. Chapultepec, Stirling, and Edin- 

304 


CARACAS 305 


burgh are castles built upon rocks; but Caracas is 
“a city set on a hill,” whose light ought to shine 
out over the surrounding land and sea. 

We disembarked on March 24 at La Guaira, 
where we were met by Rev. F’. F. Darley and Rev. 
C. A. Phillips, of the Venezuela Mission, and with 
them took an automobile for the ride up the pre- 
cipitous, winding road to Caracas. De Lesseps, 
who directed the cutting of the Suez Canal and who 
was interested in the building of the Caracas rail- 
road, which follows about the same route as the 
highway, is reported to have said, ‘“‘ There is only 
one dangerous part of the line, and that extends 
from La Guaira to Caracas.” I have driven over 
various highways with steep grades and abrupt 
curves, and have special memories of certain roads 
in the Allegheny Mountains and along the coast 
of northern California, but for beauty of scenery 
and for the sensation of uncertainty as to the prob- 
able continuation of the journey, whether on the 
road or in the air, the twenty-three-mile ride from 
La Guiara to Caracas eclipses all previous experi- 
ence. The highway has only an occasional wall or 
fence, and in various places we gazed almost 
straight down for a thousand, two thousand, and 
three thousand feet to the blue Caribbean, fringed 
with feathery coco palms and dotted with the white 
sails of native fishing boats. Our car was hardly 
equal to the stiff grades before us; our driver was 
a Latin American, who handled an automobile 
as he would a horse, goading it forward by fits and 
starts, alternately applying the accelerator and the 


306 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


brakes. This particular driver wore a new straw 
hat; the wind along the cliff was gusty and strong; 
several times it caught his hat and blew it into the 
back of the car; each time the owner whirled around 
to catch at it desperately, the machine following 
its own devices in regard to speed and direction. 
All these incidents added to the zest of the drive up 
the mountain, and we were glad when we crossed 
the divide, and began to coast down toward the 
capital. 

In Venezuela the Spaniards found the moun- 
tains, for which they always sought, close to the 
sea, and consequently it is one of the few Spanish- 
American countries whose capital city is less than 
a day’s journey from the ocean. The history of the 
Spanish colony dates from 1527; its capital was 
founded in 1567, by Santiago de Leon de Caracas. 
Only once was the city captured by the buccaneers 
who sailed the Spanish Main. In 1595, a British 
force under Captain Preston, afterward Sir 
Amyas, and perhaps the forerunner of Amyas 
Leigh, instead of approaching the city by the old 
Spanish road up the cliff, where the Spanish gar- 
rison was awaiting them, marched up a secret 
“ Indian way,” and so came upon the undefended 
city, capturing it with comparative ease. The 
mountain slopes to the north guard the city, as 
Monserrat and Guadalupe guard the city of Bo- 
gota. But the Caracas Cordillera, though only 
half as high above sea level, rises twice as far above 
the city as do these two peaks. There is no wide- 
spreading plain before the city as before Bogota, 


CARACAS 307 


but innumerable hills and valleys break up the fore- 
ground, the city residences, governmental buildings, 
and monuments being half hidden, half enhanced, 
by their mountainous surroundings. 

Like Rome, Caracas is noted throughout the sur- 
rounding region for its churches, monuments, and 
public buildings. The steep spires of EK] Calvario, 
on the wooded hill called Calvary, rise above and 
beyond the city on the south; to the left, is the 
great Arch of the Federation, built to commemo- 
rate the establishment of the federal system of gov- 
ernment, an imposing structure which closely re- 
sembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 'The dome 
of the National Capitol dominates the center of the 
city. Within the Executive Palace, a part of the 
Capitol building, in the Salon Eliptico is a collec- 
tion of portraits of national heroes and patriots. 
The picture of the Irishman, Daniel I’. O'Leary, 
who served in the British Legion in Bolivar’s army 
during the War for Independence, is conspicuous 
among his various dark-haired and dark-eyed con- 
temporaries. On the ceilings of the wings are rep- 
resentations of the battles of Boyaca and Pichincha, 
the decisive battles in the freedom of Colombia and 
Ecuador, and of the Congress of Angostura, which 
met in 1819 and drew up the Constitution for 
Greater Colombia. 

In the southern part of the city is an equestrian 
statue of Antonio José de Sucre, who was the 
leader in the victories of Pichincha and Ayacucho, 
the latter battle in 1824 being the decisive stroke in 
the freedom of Peru and in the formation of Bo- 


308 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


livia. On the monument are inscribed Bolivar’s 
words: 

“General Sucre is the father of Ayacucho; he is 
the redeemer of the sons of the sun; he has broken 
the chains with which Pizarro bound the empire of 
the Incas. Posterity will represent Sucre with one 
foot at Pichincha and the other at Potosi, holding 
in his hands the cradle of Manco Capac, and con- 
templating the chains of Peru broken by his sword.” 

At the other end of a beautiful avenue, guarded 
by stately trees, is a statue of Washington, which 
was erected in 1883 and moved to its present site 
in 1921. The figure of Washington faces the north, 
with uplifted hand pointing in the direction of his 
own land. At the base of the monument is the in- 
scription in Spanish, “'The government and the 
people of Venezuela to ‘Jorge Washington,’ 
founder of the republic of the North, erected at 
the centenary of the Liberator, Simon Bolivar, 
1883.” In Central Park, New York City, stands 
a statue of Bolivar, father of five of the republics 
of the South, placed there two years ago with re- 
ciprocal sentiments. 

But most impressive of these buildings and 
monuments is the Pantheon. It is situated in the 
northern part of the city at the foot of the moun- 
tain wall. In it are the tombs, graves, and monu- 
ments of the greatest of the Venezuelans. Three 
names stand out conspicuously; those of the “ Rev- 
olutionary Trinity,” Miranda, Sucre, and Bolivar. 
The body of Miranda, who died in a Spanish prison 
in 1816, and that of Sucre, who in 1830 was assas- 


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CARACAS 309 


sinated in Bolivia, were lost, and inscriptions at the 
base of their monuments lament this fact. Bolivar 
is reported to have once said, “If God should give 
to men the right to select the members of their own 
family, I should select for a son, General Sucre.” 
On the monument are inscribed the words, “ He 
was present at the birth of the revolution of inde- 
pendence; with the Battle of Ayacucho he assured 
the liberty of South America.” Concerning Mi- 
randa, an inscription reads, “‘ He took part in three 
great political movements of his age: the independ- 
ence of the United States of North America; the 
French Revolution; and the independence of South 
America.” 

The statues of Sucre and Miranda, each holding 
a flag, are placed on either side of the alcove at the 
northern end of the room. In this central alcove, 
under a marble canopy flanked by memorial wreaths 
and garlands, is a statue of Bolivar, and in the tomb 
back of this figure the body of the Liberator is 
buried. ‘There is a simple inscription in Latin on 
the monument, but on the walls are various tablets 
which pay tribute in unrestrained terms to “ The 
Liberator of Five Nations,” to one who was called 
by San Martin, a contemporary, “The most 
extraordinary personage that South America has 
produced.” There are tablets and wreaths bearing 
the name of the Liberator from Colombia, Bolivia, 
the United States, many societies, and individuals, 
and no one ean visit this tomb, which is held in such 
reverence and admiration by so many South Amer- 
icans, without being deeply impressed. 


310 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


The Declaration of Independence of Venezuela, 
as drawn up by Bolivar at the Congress of Angos- 
tura, November 20, 1818, is inscribed on one of the 
walls of the Pantheon; it has many phrases that 
are reminiscent of the similar Declaration of the 
Thirteen Colonies farther north. The statement 
begins: 

“Declaration of the Republic of Venezuela. 
Simon Bolivar, Supreme Chief of the Republic. ... 

“ Considering: That the Spanish Government 
has solicited the mediation of the High Powers for 
the reéstablishment of its authority, on the basis of 
reconciliation, over the free and independent 
peoples of America, it is fitting to make a declara- 
tion, before the face of the world, of the sentiments 
and the decisions of the people of Venezuela.” 

There follows a list of reasons and provocations 
for the position which the Venezuelan Government 
had taken up, and the statement continues: 

“ Because of all these considerations, the Gov- 
ernment of Venezuela, interpreting the national 
desire and will, has seen fit to make public before 
the world the following declaration: 

“1. That the Republic of Venezuela, by human 
and divine right, is hereby emancipated from the 
Spanish nation and constituted in a sovereign, free, 
and independent State. 

“2. That Spain is not justified in reclaiming its 
domination, nor Europe in attempting to make it 
submit to the Spanish Government. 

“3. That it has not solicited, nor will it ever so- 
licit, its incorporation with the Spanish nation, .. . 


CARACAS 311 


“7, Finally, the Republic of Venezuela declares 
that since April 19, 1810, it is fighting for its rights; 
that it has spilled the greater part of the blood of 
its sons; that it has sacrificed all its property, all its 
pleasures, all that is held dear and sacred by men; 
and that, in order to recover its sovereign rights and 
to maintain them whole, as the divine Providence 
has granted them, the people of Venezuela is deter- 
mined to find its sepulcher among its own ruins, if 
Spain, Europe, and the world persist in trying to 
subjugate it to the Spanish yoke.” 

To Bolivar and to his leadership, the cause of 
South American independence from Spanish rule 
undoubtedly owes much. ‘The statement of his 
biographer, Dr. Scheyvur, quoted by W. S. Rob- 
ertson, is not extreme: “ Besides establishing the 
independence of five nations, the achievement of 
Bolivar consisted in the fact that he thrust half a 
million of slaves into struggles for republican gov- 
ernment and democracy.” ‘The territory which be- 
came free as a result of the wars waged chiefly 
under the leadership of Bolivar was seven times 
as large as the territory won by the North American 
army under Washington. The five countries lib- 
erated by him recognize their obligation to him. 
Bolivar’s picture is in almost every public building 
of importance. There is hardly a city without its 
Plaza de Bolivar. One nation is named after him; 
two others designate their monetary unit by his 
surname. Although Sucre and San Martin un- 
doubtedly surpassed him in nobility and gener- 
osity of character, the chief homage of praise is 


3812 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


given to Bolivar, and in the countries fringing 
the Caribbean, at least, he is held up as the model 
for the rising generation. ‘There is undoubtedly 
a certain element of justice in this viewpoint, and 
cause for this widespread tribute. 

And yet there is something of pathos in it all. 
Bolivar is all they have. ‘There is no group or 
line of men of courage and patriotism and integ- 
rity, as in other countries, to whom these ardent 
young South Americans can look for example and 
guidance. And Bolivar, despite his undeniable 
achievements, lacked two of the essential character- 
istics of a truly great and good man: purity and 
integrity of personal character, and an indomitable 
and undying faith in the certain victory of the cause 
and ideals for which he fought. Of Bolivar’s per- 
sonal life and relations it is better to say nothing, 
except that the young men of South America can- 
not find in them an incentive or an inspiration to 
purity of heart and life. In a statement published 
in 1829, he declared: 

“There is no faith in America; neither among 
men, nor among nations; their treaties are paper; 
their constitutions are paper and ink; their elections 
are combats; hberty is anarchy; and life is a 
torment.” 

In a letter written to General Flores of Ecuador, 
Bolivar shortly before his death summarized his 
own career and the conclusions he had reached: 

‘“‘T have been in power for nearly twenty years; 
from this experience I have gathered only a few 
definite results: 


CARACAS 313 


“1. America for us is ungovernable. 

“2. He who dedicates his services to a revolution 
plows the sea. 

“3. The only thing that can be done in America 
is to emigrate. 

“4. This country will inevitably fall into the 
hands of the unbridled rabble, and little by little be- 
come a prey to petty tyrants of all colors and races. 

“5. Devoured as we shall be by all possible 
crimes and ruined by our own ferociousness, Ku- 
ropeans will not deem it worth while to conquer us. 

“6. If it were possible for any part of the world 
to return to the state of primitive chaos, that would 
be the last stage of Spanish America.” 

Even before his death the nation of Greater Co- 
lombia, which he had labored to set up, fell to 
pieces, and Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador 
emerged as separate governmental entities. 

These countries which Bolivar liberated need, 
more than any other possession in the world, leaders 
who truly merit the high compliment of being 
called men. ‘They need men dominated by the 
ideals and loyal to the principles of truth, purity, 
and service. Such men are all too few. The tragedy 
of the contemporary life and of the past histories 
of these countries is that nowhere can they look for 
the inspiration of character which they need, neither 
in the past nor in the present, neither in the ranks 
of politics nor in those of the dominant Church. 

It is to supply this lack of true Christlike char- 
acter that Protestant missions have come to work 
in Venezuela. Representatives of the Presbyterian 


814 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


Church were among the first to enter the field, 
though from the standpoint of the need of the 
country they could not have come too soon. In 
1897, Dr. and Mrs. Theodore S. Pond came from 
the Colombia Mission and began work in Caracas. 
They had had nearly thirty years of experience in 
the work of the Congregational Church in the Near 
East and in the work of the Presbyterian Church 
in Colombia. They incarnated in their lives and 
service the living principles of truth and purity and 
love. They built up a congregation, established 
schools, and for twenty-four years labored indefat- 
igably for the city and the country. They were 
missionaries of rare culture and charm of personal- 
ity, and they made a lasting impression on both 
Venezuela and foreign communities. Jor fif- 
teen years they worked alone; then, in 1912, Rev. 
and Mrs. F. F.. Darley were sent to Caracas and the 
Mission was formally organized as the youngest 
of the twenty-seven Missions of the Presbyterian 
Church. In subsequent years Rev. and Mrs. C. A. 
Phillips, Miss Lena Wilson, Miss Verna A. Phil- 
lips, and Miss Lillian Hansen, were sent out; the 
present missionary force in the single Station at 
Caracas, following the resignation of Dr. and Mrs. 
Pond in 1921, numbers seven Americans. In 1922, 
Dr. and Mrs. Pond were placed on the list of hon- 
orably retired missionaries of our Church: in May 
of that year Mrs. Pond died after a brief illness. 
In the year 1923, the work included a congrega- 
tion numbering 140 communicants, three other 
smaller groups in the suburban districts of Cande- 


CARACAS 315 


laria, San José, and Tapia, a girls’ school with 
thirty students enrolled, and a day school at Cande- 
laria with twenty-one pupils. Largely owing to 
the wise and energetic efforts of Dr. and Mrs. Pond 
the Mission has secured property in the best and 
most strategic sections of the city. The handsome 
church, with its melodious bell that sounds clearly 
among so many Roman Catholic calls to worship, 
is located only half a block from the National Cap- 
itol. ‘The girls’ school, where the three American 
teachers live, is a block farther to the north; and 
the attractive missionary residence, where Rev. and 
Mrs. Darley live, the gift of the Sage Legacy 
Fund, adjoins the girls’ school property. In 
Candelaria, there is a property which is used for 
a chapel, school, and pastor’s residence. It is not 
large enough for these three purposes, and has 
certain disadvantages of location; the Mission has 
voted to sell it when new property, better fitted for 
the same three purposes, can be secured. In Los 
Teques, an hour’s ride by train southwest of the 
city, is the “ Quinta Pond Resthouse ” at a higher 
elevation than Caracas, where the members of the 
Mission can go for recreation and change. 

We arrived in Caracas Saturday afternoon, 
March 24, and left the city Monday morning, 
April 2. The intervening days were devoted to 
public meetings, conferences with the Mission, a 
conference with representatives of other Protestant 
societies and organizations in Venezuela, and va- 
rious other engagements. I am not sure that you 
who read these letters can visualize exactly the 


816 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


activities which a deputation of the Board attempts 
to carry out at each Mission and Station visited. 
Perhaps you may be interested in a brief summary 
of our schedule in Caracas, which is fairly typical 
of those in the other centers visited on this trip. 
We arrived about one o’clock Saturday after- 
noon, met with the missionaries in the afternoon 
to map out the work of the week ahead, and in the 
evening went through the mail which had accumu- 
lated at Caracas during the past two weeks. Sun- 
day morning we attended the Sunday school, giv- 
ing short addresses; in the evening, at a service in 
the church, we extended the greetings of the Pres- 
byterian Church in the U. S. A., as voiced by the 
Moderator, Dr. C. C. Hays, and added a few words 
on appropriate themes. Dr. Browning, of course, 
spoke in Spanish; I talked in English, with 
his services as interpreter. In such cases he had to 
do double duty, but my remarks in English became 
transformed into really good speeches in Spanish, 
and I was as much interested as the audience in 
this linguistic metamorphosis. Monday morning, 
the twenty-sixth, was devoted to travel letters and 
mail; the afternoon to visiting Candelaria and ad- 
joining sections of the city and to personal inter- 
views; that evening we took part in the impressive 
ordination services of Sefior Andres Key. ‘Tues- 
day was devoted to the Mission meeting; that night 
I went with Mr. Darley to a meeting in the Tapia 
district, held in the room of a private house, the 
service being sponsored by a policeman who had 
become much interested in the evangelical gospel. 


CARACAS 317 


Wednesday and Thursday were taken up at the 
Conference with representatives of eight missionary 
societies and organizations in Venezuela, the first 
meeting of its kind ever held in the country. The 
twelve topics outlined for consideration in the com- 
ing Congress on Christian Work in Montevideo, 
Uruguay, scheduled for the spring of 1925, were 
covered with special reference to their bearing on 
Venezuelan conditions. Findings and conclusions 
were worked out to which the Conference as a whole 
subscribed. Dr. Browning, representing the Com- 
mittee on Codperation in Latin America, acted as 
chairman; a Regional Committee on Codperation 
was elected; a good beginning was made at the 
division and allocation of territory in the country 
to the various organizations represented, and we 
all felt the inspiration and strength of our united 
counsels, prayers, and efforts, and were grateful 
for the privilege of this meeting together. Wednes- 
day night Dr. Browning spoke before a meeting 
of all the evangelical groups in the city on the work 
of the evangelical Churches in Latin America; 
Thursday evening was devoted to preparing for the 
American mail which was to leave the following 
day. Friday was taken up with Mission meeting, 
and that night, after the ordination of two elders 
and a deacon and the baptism of two children, the 
Communion was celebrated, the newly ordained 
minister, Sefior Key, taking the central place, with 
Dr. Browning, the newly ordained elders, and I 
assisting him. Saturday, the thirty-first, we went 
by train to Los Teques, where the Mission resthouse 


318 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


is located. The house itself is small and unpre- 
tentious, but its location is ideal. The village of 
Los Teques has been beautified by the German 
residents, an attractive park having been laid out 
with true German appreciation for natural, though 
well-regulated, beauty of scenery. The surround- 
ings add to the usefulness of the resthouse. In the 
afternoon we drove about the city, visiting Can- 
delaria again and other places of interest and im- 
portance. We had hoped that Dr. Browning might 
lecture in the University of Caracas, as in Medellin, 
but it was Holy Week, and although the rector of 
the university was most cordial, it was impossible 
to make arrangements for this address. We com- 
pleted our preparations for the trip from La Guaira 
on the following Monday, and that night a reception 
was given to us by the local church at which we 
enjoyed various juvenile games, and closed with 
a few words in a more serious vein. On Kaster 
morning, April first, we attended the Sunday- 
school service; that afternoon I had the pleasure 
of speaking at an Easter service held in the church 
for Americans and the foreign community in gen- 
eral. Rev. Mr. Hendrick, the Anglican pastor in 
Caracas, kindly codperated in this service. A 
group of thirty-five attended, including the Amer- 
ican minister, Mr. Cook, and the resident consul, 
with their wives. It was a joy to meet with our 
fellow citizens in this first American service in 
Caracas, and especially to have before us the Easter 
message of new life and power and joy in the risen 
Christ. That evening a final service was held with 


CARACAS 319 


the Venezuelan church. They presented us with a 
beautiful Venezuelan flag with its broad blue and 
red and gold stripes, and its central circle of shining 
stars, to take to the Board together with our Mexi- 
ean and Colombian banners. Early the next morn- 
ing we left by the railroad for La Guaira and em- 
barked on this boat for Panama, en route for New 
York. 

The days in Venezuela were full and most happy, 
as were all the days of the past six months. Con- 
tinually it seemed that the spirit of the one who had 
had such a large part in building this living work 
for Christ was near us, in our midst. All about 
us were reminders of her service and her husband’s; 
a bronze vase, inscribed in loving memory of Mrs. 
Pond by a foreign friend in Caracas, their pictures 
in the houses we visited, and their names on the 
lips of those who loved them. “ Yes,” two Vene- 
zuelan women of the congregation told us, “ the 
spirit of Sefiora Pond is en los cielos y en nustros 
corazones,’ “is in heaven and in our hearts.” 
But the living and lasting monument to Dr. and 
Mrs. Pond’s work is the Mission, the church, and 
the property which were built up by this one couple 
alone, working in the spirit and with the grace of 
God. 

This work must go forward in the same spirit. 
The present members of the Mission have done 
much in organizing the Sunday school, church, and 
girls’ school, and in making clear the objectives be- 
fore them. At the Codperative Conference, in the 
distribution of territory in the country, our Mission 


820 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


was assigned as the field of its service Caracas and 
the Federal District, except a certain section of 
the city allotted to the Christian Missions in Many 
Lands, and the northern portions of the two States 
of Miranda and Azoategui, which lie just to the 
east of Caracas, bordering the sea. The needs in 
the personnel of the Mission were outlined at the 
Mission meeting as three men educators, two women 
educators, one matron for the girls’ school, an 
ordained man for itinerating, and a nurse. ‘This 
list of new missionaries, if provided, would bring 
the total membership of the Mission to nineteen, 
not an excessive number for the responsibilities and 
opportunities of the work. The Mission is asking 
for land and building for a girls’ boarding school, 
which will cost $75,000, and for funds for the 
building for the boys’ boarding school, amounting 
to $50,000. These two schools are needed to 
serve the whole Protestant community and the 
younger generation of Venezuela as a whole; the 
other missionary societies represented at the Con- 
ference united in asking our Church to establish 
such schools as soon as possible. At present there 
are no schools of an evangelical Church above ele- 
mentary grades, in the whole country. Other prop- 
erty needs are an additional missionary residence, 
an enlargement of the ground around the central 
church to provide for necessary additions to the 
building which is now overcrowded; a more suitable 
property in or near Candelaria; and funds and 
equipment for our share in the joint program 
agreed upon by the Scandinavian Alliance Mission 





THE PANTHEON, WITH THE TOMB OF BOLIVAR, IN CARACAS 


a a 
Ab ig 


Stas Paes 
eae 





CARACAS 321 


and our Mission for the production and distribu- 
tion of Christian literature, through press, peri- 
odical, and bookstore. The Scandinavian Alliance 
Mission has a flourishing press and paper and has 
invited our Mission to codperate in these enter- 
prises; a joint agreement was worked out, subject 
to the approval of both Boards, which provides for 
three years of codperation in Maracaibo, the present 
location of the publishing interests of the Scandi- 
navian Alliance Mission, and the transfer of this 
center to Caracas, under the joint control of the 
two Missions after the three-year period. 

On Monday afternoon, April 2, we embarked on 
our present ship, the S.S. Van Rensselaer, of the 
Netherlands West India Mail, and started on the 
reverse itinerary of Curacao, Puerto Colombia, 
Cartagena, and Cristobal. We expect to make 
good connections at the Canal Zone with the United 
Fruit steamer, Metapan, which sails April 12 for 
Jamaica and New York, being due in New York, 
April 19. 


CHAPTER XXIII 
HOMEWARD BOUND 


On S.S. Van RENssELAER, 
Royat NetHeritanps West Inp1ia Matt, 
April 5, 1923 


IX months ago this trip began. As members 
of the deputation of the Board, we have visited 
Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela. We have been 
almost constantly with citizens of foreign nations. 
We have mingled with these people intimately; we 
have traveled to the country towns and villages 
and to regions far distant from the cities most fre- 
quented by foreign visitors. Not once have we 
heard a word of suspicion or distrust because of our 
nationality or work; everywhere we have met love 
and good will, and the direct look and the kind 
handclasp that are indicative of true friendship. 
These people of the two Americas south of us are 
so friendly and so warm in heart that service with 
them and for them in turn warms one’s spirit and 
brightens one’s horizon. It is to Another rather 
than to ourselves that we can trace that atmosphere 
of friendliness; to the One who said, “I call you 
not servants, but friends,’ and we have seen His 
life shining through the eyes of these Latin-Amer- 
ican followers of His and sounding through their 
words to us, even though they were spoken in an 
alien tongue. There is a picture in the building of 
322 


HOMEWARD BOUND 323 


the Pan-American Union, in Washington, dedi- 
cated to the friendship of the twenty-one American 
republics, which bears an inscription in the hand- 
writing of a well-known American: “ God has made 
us neighbors; let justice make us friends.” Justice 
is needed, indeed, but something more than Justice 
as well. A better word might be: “ God has made 
us neighbors; let Jesus make us friends.” 

The words of the hymn, “ America the Beauti- 
ful,” by Katharine Lee Bates, were in our hearts 
as we turned our faces toward our own homeland. 
But now it seemed these words included both 
the Americas, North and South. The first verse 
might be considered to speak especially of our 
northern land; the second of the Southland; in the 
last verse, both North and South can unite. For 
the countries we have visited and the country to 
which we go, this hymn voices our prayer: 


“O beautiful for spacious skies, 
For amber waves of grain, 
For purple mountain majesties 
Above the fruited plain! 
America! America! 
God shed His grace on thee, 
And crown thy good with brotherhood 
From sea to shining sea! 


“O beautiful for glory tale 
Of liberating strife, 
When valiantly for man’s avail 
Men lavished precious life! 


824 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


America! America! 

May God thy gold refine 
Till all success be nobleness 
And every gain divine! 


“O beautiful for patriot dream, 
That sees beyond the years, 
Thine alabaster cities gleam, 
Undimmed by human tears! 
America! America! 
God shed His grace on thee, 
And crown thy good with brotherhood 
From sea to shining sea.” 


CHAPTER XXIV 
MISSION DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1923 


INCE the visit of the Commission to Colombia 
and Venezuela in the early part of 1923, there 
have been various developments of interest. A 
brief summary of the major changes in the various 
Mission Stations is given in this concluding chapter. 
The pressing need for property for the girls’ 
school in Barranquilla has been met in the purchase 
of “ La Esperanza ” in January, 1924. It was not 
possible for the Mission to secure a lease for longer 
than one year for this property. The lease given 
extended from February, 1923, to February, 1924; 
the property would then be placed on the market 
and, as there was a possibility that another party 
might purchase it and the school thus be without 
any home, special efforts were made to secure the 
funds to buy the property for the permanent use 
of the school. In the fall of 1923, a campaign was 
conducted in northwestern Pennsylvania in the four 
Presbyteries of Blairsville, Clarion, Erie, and Kit- 
tanning. ‘Twenty thousand dollars was contrib- 
uted by churches in these presbyteries, and from the 
Sage Legacy Fund and from other sources an addi- 
tional $20,000 was secured. The property was 
bought for $40,000. The registration of the school 
increased to over three hundred after it was moved 
825 


326 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


into its present quarters, so that the Barranquilla 
Girls’ School is now one of the largest Protestant 
schools for girls in South America. A letter writ- 
ten by the teachers of the school on February 29, 
1924, indicates the happiness which the purchase 
of this property brought to all those related to the 
institution. 


“COLEGIO AMERICANO PARA SENORITAS 


“ BARRANQUILLA, Cortomsia, S.A., 
“February 29, 1924. 


“ Rev. W. REGINALD WHEELER, 
“156 Fifth Avenue, 
“New York, N. Y. 


“Dear Mr. Wheeler: 


“What can we say to express our joy and grati- 
tude over the purchase of “ La Esperanza”? We 
can hardly believe that it is true. We look at the 
walls, the fine big patio, the trees and the flowers, 
and we say to each other, “ It is all ours.” We look 
at our girls scattered over the grounds with plenty 
of space to run and play, and we are so thankful. 

“Our chicken yard was called upon to make a 
sacrifice and to-night the boarding pupils and all 
the teachers have had a fiesta in honor of the pur- 
chase. We had a chicken dinner, served out of 
doors, and afterwards there were speeches and 
general rejoicing, with Vivas! for La Esperanza, 
for the Board, for the doners, and for all connected 
with the campaign. 


DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 19238 327 


“We hope and pray that the years will prove 
that you were justified in the confidence that you 
have put in the school and in those of us who are 
now in charge of it. We are planning for its im- 
provement and enlargement. 

“In the name of our Colombian teachers and of 
all our pupils, present and prospective, we thank 
you. 

Yours sincerely and gratefully, 


“ (Signed) ELLen ANN TomMPkKINS 
“RutH W. BrRaDdLey 
“ RAacHEL M. SHERRERD ” 


As this volume goes to press a fine new church 
building, in which $25,000 is invested, is being 
erected on an unused corner lot of the boys’ school 
property. ‘This church will serve as the Protestant 
center in Barranquilla and throughout that whole 
coast region. 

In the Colombia campaign in Western Pennsyl- 
vania, in the four Presbyteries of Blairsville, 
Clarion, Erie, and Kittanning, in the fall of 
1923, the contributions and subscriptions totaled 
$30,198.30. Of this total the sum of $3,200 was 
given for property for the Girardot School, and the 
$1,200 invested by Mr. Allan out of his own funds 
was repaid in full. ‘The new building is now under 
construction. 

In September, 1924, the Mission purchased land 
in Medellin for the girls’ school; the present school 
property is to be remodeled as a church and for 
evangelistic work. 


3828 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


When the Commission met with the Mission in 
January, 1923, a five-year program of property 
needs was outlined and approved. Some of these 
needs have already been met. ‘The full list follows: 


PREFERRED List 


Alterations, Girls’ School, Barranquilla 


(Secure) IN Tein Wise sia. ies ania ne $ 2,000 
Meédellin Churehiitmi nt ais tals erent 16,000 
Pradosisandsiuts aes het Once tem ar, cts 20,000 
Cartapenn tl sands, ete isch vate ys aaa are 10,000 
SODHMALY Otel) Cem OP RUD ikea kia G seme 35,000 
BOYS | SCHOOL; BOPOtHL Minnis akties hue ele ee 25,000 
Equipment Girls’ School, Bogota ....... 5,000 
Buildings, Boys’ School, Prado ........ 73,000 
WEGUUETIA A oe dnta Hite eer cence eeeimiaey ae 4,000 
Bucaramanga Land and Church ........ 16,000 
Alterations, Girls’ School, Bogota ...... 5,000 
Cerete Land, Buildings and Equipment .. 3,500 
Equipment Boys’ School, Bogota ....... 5,000 
Lots at rear of Boys’ School, Barranquilla 15,000 
abel ba, seco a yts atet cies rr td ae hee ane 800 
PAULO OCDE Oia wumpscut we emer ee ae ee 115 
mGnolarshipgi: urea earl ten aay ec eet ei 760 


Sreconp List 


Land, Girardot (Secured) ............. $ 1,500 
Residence''s Boratare ah hia eee eee 12,000 
Equipment Girls’ School, Barranquilla .. 5,000 
Equipment Girls’ School, Medellin ...... 3,000 


BarriovA rr Ds ioe ee 5,000 


DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1923 329 


LOTR: 1A a, eat eee ee eee oan aban Cee ty $ 3,000 


Monteria School and Chapel ........... 4,000 
San Carlos, Land, Residence, and Chapel 2,500 
Residence, Barranquilla ............... 5,000 
Athletic’ Meld Bogota nw. rc fits 7,000 
Alterations, Boys’ School, Barranquilla 15,000 
Brontimopicandir cig. cae aac ie eva iae 450 
Negnneba Landa anim adr ehte eal owl yg 300 
Balance of Building, Prado ............ 22,000 
ResthousesBovotanvecmrot iar chor oa iret an 5,000 
PETEITAMLIATICa ere Bre uate sy Ae EAT, 3,000 
Residence, Barranquilla) 2.2.2.0... 5,000 
Barrio Properties, Bucaramanga ........ 38,000 
Cartagena Chapel and School Buildings .. 5,000 
INET Way LOSATICL ceatenc eee talons Ok ean aa REE Raa 8,000 


A five-year program of property needs as out- 
lined and approved at the meeting of the Venezuela 
Mission with the Commission in March, 1928, 
follows: 


Building Candelaria Chapel ............ $15,000 
Girls*:Schoglteae MS ee ee 50,000 
Boys Schoolpeis eee ye ena 75,000 
TRESICENI CE eri ie Ghee eo lo eae eee aie 8,000 
Joana vat Rear Church cs pelea ee 1,500 
Land at Side of Church, and Rebuilding .. 15,000 
FTALODI ODEs Aad ieoaeal cena ick aeeees: Lesh eC Ung 800 


Since the visit of the Commission in 1923, eight 
new missionaries have been added to the force in 
Colombia: Mr. and Mrs. P. M. DeKalb, Mr. and 
Mrs. W. G. McLean, Rev. and Mrs. N. EK. Ny- 


330 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


gaard, Miss Anna Oberhelman, and Miss Viola 
M. Warner. There were seven losses in the Mis- 
sion, however, due to resignations and withdrawals, 
so that the net gain is only one. The total number 
of Presbyterian missionaries in Colombia in 1924 
was thirty-three. They represent the only Protes- 
tant denomination at work in the country, although 
there are four missionaries from the Kansas City 
Union, unrelated to any of the larger Mission 
Boards. The chief responsibility for the spreading 
of Protestant Christianity among more than six 
million people rests upon this group of thirty-three 
missionaries. “ We have put our hand to this plow; 
the furrow is not yet run.” 

In Venezuela important questions of policy are 
under discussion as this book goes to press, 1924, 
and the development of that Mission will be de- 
termined by decisions reached by the Presbyterian 
Board and other societies in the near future. 


A BRIEF READING LIST ON COLOMBIA AND 
VENEZUELA 


(Notr. — For those who desire a shorter list than the fol- 
lowing, certain books which might be included in such an 
abbreviated list are starred.) 


GENERAL 


* The Commercial Traveler’s Guide to Latin America, Chap- 
ters on Colombia and Venezuela. Revised Edition, 
Edited by Ernst B. Filsinger, United States Department 
of Commerce, 89. Government Printing Office, Washing- 
ton, 1922. 

A detailed compilation of important facts concerning 
the Latin-American countries, published originally in 
separate volumes by the United States Department of 
Commerce. 

Admirals of the Caribbean, by F. S. Hart. Houghton 
Mifflin Company, New York, 1922. 

An interesting summary of the lives and exploits of 
the great admirals and buccaneers who once sailed the 
Spanish Main. 

The Buccaneers of America, by John Esquemeling. Trans- 
lation of 1684-1685. Revised and edited by William 
Swan Stallybrass, with Introductory Essay by Andrew 
Lang. E. P. Dutton and Company, New York, 1924. 

The chronicles of John Esquemeling, one of the buc- 
caneers who accompanied Sir Henry Morgan, and wrote 
with somewhat appalling frankness of the deeds of Mor- 
gan and his men. There are several quotations from 
these chronicles in the preceding volume, Admirals of 
the Caribbean. 

Journal of His First Voyage to America, by Christopher 
Columbus. Albert and Charles Boni, 1924. 


331 


832 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


An abstract from the original journal of this momen- 
tous voyage which helps to give one an adequate historical 
perspective. 


RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 


* South American Problems, by Robert E. Speer. Student 
Volunteer Movement, New York, 1912. 
A mission-study book on South America, written in 
1910 and still a standard text on the subject. 


Roman Christianity in Latin America, by Webster E. Brown- 
ing. Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, 1924. 
One of the volumes in the “ Living Religions ” series. 
A clear, succinct summary of Roman Catholicism in 
Latin America from the Protestant viewpoint, by one 
who has lived and worked for twenty-eight years in 
South America. 


HISTORY 


* History of the Latin-American Nations, Chapters on Colom- 
bia and Venezuela, by W. S. Robertson. D. Appleton 
and Company, New York, 1922. 

An inclusive and readable history, not overburdened 
with detail, of all the Latin-American countries, A 
valuable introductory volume. 


* The Rise of the Spanish-American Republics, Chapters on 
Bolivar, Sucre, and Miranda, by W. S. Robertson. D. 
Appleton and Company, New York, 1921. 

A more detailed history based on the original sources 
of the recent development of the chief Spanish-American 
republics as told in the lives of their liberators. 

* The Conquest of New Granada, by R. G. B. Cunninghame 
Graham. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1922. 

A vivid description of the exploits of Jiménez de 
Quesada, the conqueror of Colombia, written by a well- 
known British author. 


READING LIST 333 


Bolivar — Liberator of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, 
Peru and Bolivia, by H. R. Lemly. Stratford Company, 
Boston, 1923. 

The first attempt to produce in English a detailed 
history of the life of the “ George Washington of South 
American Independence.” 


DESCRIPTION 


Cartagena and the Banks of the Sinu, by R. G. B. Cunning- 
hame Graham. George H. Doran Company. New York 
1921. | 

A detailed description of this picturesque port and of 
an adjoining river valley, written by the author of The 
Conquest of New Granada after a trip through this 
section of Colombia. 

* Colombia, the Land of Miracles, by Blair Niles. Century 
Company, New York, 1924. 

A well-written account of a country whose unique 
character is beginning to win attention from many 
travelers. 

Quito to Bogota, by A. C. Veatch. Introduction by Lord 
Murray, George H. Doran Company, New York, 1917. 

A first-hand account by a British traveler and author 
of a trip from the capital of Ecuador to the capital and 
seacoast of Colombia. 

Vagabonding Down the Andes, by Harry A. Franck. Cen- 
tury Company, New York, 1923. 

The first chapters of this well-known travel book deal 
with the author’s experiences in Colombia. 

Venezuela, by Leonard VY. Dalton. Fisher Unwin, London, 
1912. 

The Colombian and Venezuelan Republics, by W. L. 
Scruggs. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1919. 
Second Edition. 

These two books give general descriptions and in- 
formation which, although not entirely up-to-date or al- 
ways accurate, are of interest in an introductory study. 


884 MODERN MISSIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 


* Up the Orinoco and Down the Magdalena, by J. A. Zahm, 
(H. J. Mozans, pseud.). D. Appleton and Company, 
1910. 

An authoritative description of these two great water- 
ways of Venezuela and Colombia by one who later ac- 
companied ex-President Roosevelt on his trip through 
Brazil. 

The Journal of an Expedition Across Venezuela and 
Colombia, 1906-1907, by Hiram Bingham. Yale Uni- 
versity Press, 1909. 

An interesting narrative of an unusual journey 
through these two countries by a well-known traveler 
and scientist. 

South of Panama, by E. A. Ross. Century Company, New 
York, 1915. 

This is one of the clearest and most informing de- 
scriptions of conditions in certain South American coun- 
tries written by an eminent sociologist, 


FICTION 


Captain Blood, by Rafael Sabatini. Houghton Mifflin 
Company, New York, 1922. 

An exciting melodrama by a Spanish author, based 
on certain facts in the life of Sir Henry Morgan, one 
of the most famous of the Caribbean privateers. 

Maria, by J. Isaacs. Macmillan Company, N. Y. 

A translation of a popular novel dealing with Colom- 
bian life and history. 

* Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley, Everyman’s Library 
Edition. E. P. Dutton and Company, New York. 

This book was first published in 1855. Chapters 19-26 
are devoted to scenes in Colombia and Venezuela, and 
these chapters add to the interest and charm of this 
classic, 


The current publications of the Pan-American Union, 
Washington, D. C., also contain much information of 
interest and value. 























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